The fact that walnuts are healthy is no secret. But new research, published in the journal Nutrients, shows walnuts have more than just the usual health benefits—eating this healthy snack can help you live longer. Yep, you read that right.
The researchers gathered data over the course of 20 years from 67,014 women and 26,326 men. The study participants who ate above five servings of walnuts each week had a 14% decrease in death from health-related causes, particularly cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the walnut eaters had a life expectancy boost of about a year and a half.
It should be noted that most of the participants who ate walnuts also had a generally healthy diet and exercise routine. However, the study authors did find a clear link between walnut consumption and a longer lifespan. If people eat half a serving of walnuts each day, regardless of their other habits, the risk of death still drops by 12 percent, and heart disease is decreased by 26 percent.
“What we’ve learned from this study is that even a few handfuls of walnuts per week may help promote longevity, especially among those whose diet quality isn’t great to begin with,” Yanping Li, the lead investigator from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a media release.
