Eating Nuts May Make Your Brain Function Better

A recent study published in The Official Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology found a direct connection between consumption of a variety of nuts and brain health.

To find out what effect eating nuts had on brainwave activity, researchers connected EEG machines to nine different regions of participants heads, and then had them eat cashews, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts, all while reading their brainwave signals.

The results were striking: with the participants recording higher levels of frequencies that the researchers claim are “associated with deep meditation, empathy, healing, as well as neural synchronization, enhanced cognitive processing, recall, and memory.”

The report concluded that eating nuts regularly can benefit brain health by improving attention and memory.

According to a story on Science Daily, the two standout nuts were pistachios and peanuts (which is technically a legume). Peanuts produced the highest response in waves associated with immunity, deep sleep, and natural healing. Pistachios produced the largest amount response in waves related to increasing the ability to focus, process information, remember, learn, and achieve REM sleep.

Nuts have long been already celebrated for their high levels of healthy fats, omega 3-fatty acids, and high nutrient density. They’re also credited for being very heart healthy, having anti inflammatory benefits, and potentially preventing the growth of cancerous cells.

A recent study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found nut consumption is directly correlated with a decrease in weight gain over time.

If you want to learn more about the specific health benefits of nuts, check out our Healthy Nuts Guide. To get more nuts into your diet, here are some Creative Ways to Cook With Nuts.