Researchers from Harvard found that including walnuts in the diet was positively associated with lower mortality and those who consumed more than 5 servings of walnuts a week saw a greater life expectancy.
The study was conducted using US adults from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. In total, 67,014 women and 26,326 men were included in the research. Using statistical analysis, the authors analyzed total mortality across various categories of walnut intake, ranging from less than 1 serving per week to more than 5 servings per week. They found that higher consumption of walnuts was associated with a lower risk of total and cardiovascular disease mortality. Moreover, a greater life expectancy at age 60 was observed in those who consumed walnuts more than five servings a week, compared to non-consumers.
Liu, X., Guasch-Ferré, M., Tobias, D. K., & Li, Y. (2021). Association of Walnut Consumption with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality and Life Expectancy in US Adults. Nutrients, 13(8), 2699.