Heart health: How peanuts may help protect your heart

Consider the lowly peanut. It gets no respect. But researchers from Purdue University in the US think its time to change all that.

Purdue News - an online news outlet for the University - recently detailed the results of a new study that proves regular peanut consumption helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease without weight gain.

Thats a pretty tall claim. But the reality of what a daily serving of peanuts can or cant do is not quite as simple as that bold statement would have you believe.

So before you start getting out all your peanut recipes, well take a look at the plusses and the minuses (and there are some) of the peanut.

Before we continue, please note that peanut allergies can be extremely serious, and if you are allergic, take great care to avoid them at all costs.

Health nut
Peanuts contain good amounts of niacin, folate, vitamin E, and a rich combination of minerals. So its certainly not news that the peanut (which is actually a legume; not a nut) has nutritional value.

The US researchers from Purdue University Department of Foods and Nutrition designed a small study using 15 healthy adult subjects to examine the specific effect of peanut consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The test was divided into three parts over the course of 30 weeks. In part one, subjects added peanuts to their diets in any way they chose for 8 weeks. In part two, subjects ate their normal diets, but added 500 calories of peanuts for 3 weeks. And in part three, subjects reduced their daily fat intake by 500 calories and ate 500 calories of peanuts.

The most dramatic results were found in part two of the test. When subjects simply added 500 calories of peanuts to their normal daily diet for 3 weeks, overall levels of triglycerides (a reliable heart disease marker) dropped by 24 percent. Meanwhile, subjects experienced no significant jump in body weight.

These are promising results. But considerably longer trials with more subjects are necessary before anyone can seriously make the blanket claim that peanuts reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease without weight gain.

I told you about another study on lowering heart disease risk and nut intake in the e-alert The full lowdown on nuts (25/4/05)

Little sprouts
While its true that peanuts contain fibre, monosaturated fatty acids, and other nutrients that can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, there are some drawbacks to this nutty legume.

For instance, I received this email from an HSI member named Leslie:
Ive been told that uncooked nuts and/or un-soaked nuts and seeds contain an enzyme that keeps them from sprouting and that such enzyme may cause some health (digestion) problems. From what I understand, the enzyme becomes diluted or neutralised when soaked in water, which allows the nut or seed to sprout. Or you can roast the nuts or seeds at a temperature of at least 118 degrees to neutralise the enzyme. Can you confirm or refute this information for me?

I can confirm it. Anyone who goes to the trouble to find raw seeds or nuts (including peanuts) should soak them for a while to deactivate their natural enzyme inhibitors. Ive read different recommendations for soaking times that call for a range between 5 to 24 hours. An overnight soak will probably be sufficient for peanuts. And as you might suspect, pure spring water or distilled water is recommended over tap water.

By the way, nuts and seeds that float may be rancid and should be discarded.

Peanut futures
Because most of the drawbacks of peanuts can be avoided, I hope that the Purdue study will prompt further, more ambitious research of peanuts and their apparent ability to lower triglyceride levels. For instance, a long-term trial to study the effects of organic peanuts on patients at risk of heart disease might be very revealing. And the fact that peanut consumption didnt cause a significant weight gain in the Purdue subjects should also be followed up with additional trials.

I promise to keep you updated on any new findings in this area.
In the meantime, it may be too soon to sign on for a peanut diet, but you can rest assured that a handful of peanuts is a relatively nutritious snack that just might be good for your heart.