A Delicious Way to Improve Blood Flow and Keep Heart Healthy, According to A New Study
Peanuts offer a plethora of health benefits, including an abundant source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and fiber.
When combined with banana and honey, their butter creates a nutritious and satisfying breakfast that can keep us full for hours.
Furthermore, recent research has found that peanuts also play a role in regulating blood pressure, particularly if consumed at an early age, in addition to their other general health benefits.
Rosa M. Lamuela, a professor at the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, and a member of the Nutrition and Food Safety Research Institute (INSA-UB) at the Nutrition and Food Torribera Campus, as well as the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), leads the paper.
Obtained from the leguminous plant Arachis hypogaea, peanuts are a type of nut that is widely consumed worldwide due to their nutritional composition. They are rich in fatty acids, protein, fiber, and polyphenols, making them a convenient and accessible snack that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
When it comes to nutritional studies, the emphasis is often placed on analyzing significant differences in individuals who are at a high risk of developing a disease, particularly among older individuals. This group is more likely to exhibit a favorable impact when their regular diet is altered or a nutritious food is introduced.
The study recruited 63 healthy young individuals, aged between 18 and 33 years old, who consumed a daily portion of peanut products for six months as part of their regular diet.
Professor Rosa M. Lamuela says that it’s more challenging to observe any health benefits resulting from dietary modifications in this study group.
“In this study group,” according to the professor, “it is more difficult to see any effect of dietary changes on health.”
According to Rosa M. Lamuela, this study marks the first nutritional intervention to demonstrate a positive impact on vascular markers associated with antithrombotic and vasodilator effects among healthy young individuals who consumed peanuts.
The findings of the study, published in the journal Antioxidants, show “a significant increase in urinary levels of phenolic metabolites in those young people who had eaten a daily dose of peanuts and peanut butter compared to the control group, which had eaten a cream without fiber or polyphenols.”
The researcher notes that individuals who consumed peanuts or peanut butter exhibited enhanced levels of prostacyclin I2 and a ratio of thromboxane A2 to prostacyclin I2, lipid molecules (eicosanoids) that are recognized as indicators of vascular health.
Isabella Parilli-Moser, the article’s first author and researcher at INSA-UB-CIBERobn, highlights that certain phenolic metabolites, such as hydroxycinnamic acids, exhibited a significant increase after the consumption of peanut products, and interestingly, they were also linked with the improvement in both markers.
This recent study strengthens the notion put forth in scientific literature and previous research conducted by this particular research team, which suggests that polyphenols, the primary dietary antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, have a protective influence on cardiovascular diseases in adults. Furthermore, the study supports the antithrombotic and vasodilator effects of polyphenols. The consumption of nuts and peanuts has also been associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, primarily due to the protective properties of polyphenols present in these foods.
The researchers conclude that the article sheds light on one of the possible health advantages of incorporating peanuts and peanut butter into our diet.
However, additional studies are required to comprehensively comprehend the mechanisms behind the favorable effects of peanut consumption on vascular health.
Image Credit: Getty