Whether shelled or unshelled, peanuts are a popular snack worldwide, and many people also love to eat sandwiches with a peanut butter filling. Although peanuts are classed as nuts, they are actually a member of a family of legumes, and they contain some extremely powerful nutrients that make them extremely good for your body. Read on to discover ten surprising and fascinating reasons why eating more peanuts will improve your quality of life by boosting your health.
1) They may be even better than most fruits when it comes to preventing cancer:
Firstly, one study conducted by scientists in New York showed that peanuts contain beta-sitosterol. Beta-sitosterol has been proven to reduce your risk of developing cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate, so peanuts are an excellent snack if you want to prevent cancer. For example, one study showed that eating peanuts at least twice a week made women around 58% less likely to develop colon cancer. Secondly, the resveratrol in peanuts appears to be particularly good at suppressing the growth of lung, breast, colorectal, liver and prostate cancers. Finally, peanuts also contain even more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables, so they are richer in antioxidants than blackberries, strawberries, apples, and carrots. This fact about the composition of peanuts means that they may help to protect you against all forms of cancer, as some research suggests that antioxidants lower your risk of cancer by preventing cell damage caused by dangerous free radicals.
2) They lower your risk of gaining weight:
Some people avoid peanuts because they think that eating them will cause weight gain, but a recent study on obesity has revealed that people who eat nuts at least twice a week are actually around 31% less likely to gain weight (compared to people who never eat nuts).
3) They are excellent for cardiovascular health:
The fact that peanuts are such a good source of antioxidants may be the reason why studies show that eating more peanuts can reduce a woman’s risk of dying from heart disease by up to 19%. In addition, one research project compared four studies on cardiovascular health and found that people who ate peanuts at least four times a week were 37% less likely to ever develop heart disease than those people who never ate peanuts. It is also worth noting that peanuts are a good source of potassium, which means that they can help to regulate your heartbeat and keep your blood pressure under control.
4) They can help to protect you against dementia:
A single serving of peanuts contains around 85% of your recommended daily intake of a compound called niacin (also known as vitamin B3). Studies show that people who eat the most niacin are up to 70% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Further, some research suggests that the resveratrol found in peanuts can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease in those who already suffer from the condition.
5) They help to prevent gallstones:
Over the course of twenty years, data was collected on more than 80,000 women in order to investigate the connection between eating nuts and developing gallstones. It was discovered that eating just one ounce of peanuts a day lowers your risk of gallstones by an impressive 25%.
6) They can improve respiratory health:
The resveratrol in peanuts has an anti-inflammatory influence on the cells of the lungs, as it inhibits the release of certain compounds that cause inflammation. Some of the anti-inflammatory drugs that have this mechanism of action are associated with a dangerous increase in the risk of heart attack, but eating peanuts does not come with this risk.
7) They boost digestive health:
One serving of peanuts provides you with around 10% of your recommended daily intake of fiber, which helps to promote bowel health and discourage constipation.
8. They may reduce your risk of suffering from a stroke:
Resveratrol in peanuts improves blood flow to the brain, and this may make you less likely to have a stroke. For example, studies conducted on animals showed that a diet rich in resveratrol will reliably improve blood flow by up to 30%. However, peanuts may not contain enough resveratrol to reduce stroke risk in humans to a significant extent, so research into this possible health benefit is ongoing.
9) They may help you to grow old gracefully:
Research has shown that resveratrol activates an enzyme that helps to slow aging and extend the lifespan in animals who have a calorie-restricted diet. These results warrant further investigation, but in the meantime, it will do no harm to snack on peanuts in the hopes of slightly slowing the aging process.
10) They can help to boost your metabolism:
Since peanuts contain vitamin E, eating them can help to reduce the production of compounds called nitrosamines. These compounds form in the stomach, and your body has a higher metabolic rate when less of these nitrosamines are present (so it is able to burn more calories at a faster pace). When your metabolism is higher, it is easier to lose weight or avoid gaining unwanted weight.
As is obvious from the above health benefits, including more peanuts in your diet can improve your well-being in a wide variety of interesting ways. When picking out peanuts, you should select ones that have a pleasantly fresh odor (as opposed to a musty smell) and have no signs of moisture.
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