The Study
Nut and Peanut Butter Consumption and Mortality in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study
This study watched a huge group of people for over 15 years and noticed that those who ate more nuts tended to live longer. But it didn’t make them eat nuts — so we don’t know if the nuts themselves made the difference or if nut-eaters just had healthier habits overall.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
People who ate more nuts like almonds or walnuts tended to live longer than those who didn't, but eating peanut butter didn't have the same effect.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — eating a small handful of nuts daily may help you live longer, especially from heart disease or cancer, but peanut butter doesn't seem to help.
- 2People who ate at least 2.15 grams of nuts per day had a 22% lower chance of dying from any cause over 15.5 years.
- 3Peanut butter eaters had no lower risk of death.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2019
Authors
V. Amba, G. Murphy, A. Etemadi, Shao-Ming Wang, C. Abnet, Maryam Hashemian
Related Content
Claims (10)
People who eat nuts have a lower rate of death from any cause compared to those who do not eat nuts.
People who eat nuts have lower death rates from heart disease, cancer, lung disease, infections, kidney disease, and liver disease compared to those who do not eat nuts, but there is no difference in death rates from diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease.
People who eat at least 2.15 grams of nuts per day have a 22% lower risk of dying from any cause over 15.5 years compared to those who eat less, based on data from middle-aged U.S. adults.
People who eat at least 2.15 grams of nuts per day have a 22% lower risk of dying from any cause over 15.5 years compared to those who eat less, after accounting for age, sex, smoking, body weight, physical activity, and other dietary habits.
Middle-aged adults in the U.S. who eat peanut butter do not have lower rates of death from any cause compared to those who eat similar amounts of nuts.
People who eat nuts have a lower risk of death, and this pattern holds true regardless of their sex, age, body weight, smoking habits, or education level.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.