Eating peanuts improves vascular health

May 19, 2023 | Food Testing Lab

Researchers at the University of Barcelona -Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Services claimed that eating peanuts is beneficial to the vascular health of young and healthy people.

The team followed and analyzed 63 participants, aged 18 to 33, who had a daily portion of peanut products in their regular diet for a period of 6 months. They found out that subjects who ate peanuts or peanut butter exhibited improved levels of prostacyclin I2 and ratio between thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin I2 - lipid molecules that are considered biomarkers of vascular health.

Moreover, after consumption of peanut products, there was a significant increase in phenolic metabolites, especially hydroxycinnamic acids. Hydroxycinnamic acids are correlated with the improvement seen on the two biomarkers.

Other studies have also shown how the consumption of nuts and peanuts result in lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes due to the blunting effect of polyphenols found in this food.

This research concludes the potential gains of including peanuts in our diet. However, further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms that give way to the positive effects of peanut consumption on vascular health.