Consuming Peanuts With A Meal Could Protect Against Cardiovascular Diseases

A new study indicates that eating peanuts with a meal is healthy for the heart. It could protect against cardiovascular diseases and prevent heart attack and stroke.

The study was led by Penny Kris-Etherton, a distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State, and other colleagues. The researchers discovered that consuming three ounces (85 g) of peanuts with a high-fat meal could retain the blood vessel elasticity in overweight, yet otherwise healthy men. The peanuts also lessen the levels of triglycerides, which are a damaging kind of blood fat. With this, it makes the arteries open and improves the flow of the blood, which prevents heart attacks and strokes, according to Times.

Kris-Etherton explained that arteries inside the body get a little bit stiffer during the post-meal period. On the other hand, they found that eating peanuts with a meal could prevent the stiffening response. She further explained that when the stiffening response occurs in the cells that line in the arteries, the elasticity in the arteries lessens that limit the level of nitric oxide. Once the nitric oxide was reduced, the arteries do not dilate that much.

"What you want is a dilation of the arteries and for them to be really elastic," Kris-Etherton added. Thus, consuming peanuts could keep the arteries healthy and make them elastic.

The study involved 15 healthy overweight and obese men. They were asked to eat a control meal with 3 ounces of ground unsalted peanuts made into a shake. Meanwhile, the control group was asked to eat a shake of the same nutritional quantity and quality, yet without the peanuts.

The team collected blood samples from the participants to gauge the lipoprotein, lipid and insulin levels after 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes. There was also an ultrasound machine that was used to gauge their blood flow.

The results showed that there was a 32 percent reduction in the triglyceride levels after eating peanut meal, unlike the control group. The team is planning to conduct more studies involving both men and women in the future, according to Penn State News.