Seeds of life: Eating nuts and seeds helps people live longer

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

Eating nuts and seeds helps people live longer, according to a new study.

Maintaining a high intake of fatty acids by incorporating plant oils, nuts, and seeds in your diet will lower your risk of death from all causes, suggest the findings.

Eating nuts with a high intake of an essential omega-3 fatty acid such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), decreases the risk of heart disease by helping our bodies to maintain normal heart rhythms and pumping.

The acid, which is found in plants, such as soybean, nuts, canola oils, and flaxseed, is a type of unsaturated fat, which is an important part of a healthy diet.

Previous studies have shown that a high ALA intake is associated with a lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease. However, findings from other studies on ALA and the risk of death have been inconclusive.

To address this uncertainty, an international team of researchers analyzed the results of 41 studies published between 1991 and 2021 on the associations between ALA and the risk of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The studies involved around 120,000 participants aged between 18 and 98 years old, who were monitored for between two and 32 years.

Each participant chosen accounted for factors such as age, weight, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.

By observing the data, the researchers found that a high intake of ALA was associated with 113 fewer deaths per 10,000 people for all causes, 33 fewer cardiovascular disease-related deaths, and 23 fewer coronary heart disease deaths.

Interestingly, the study, published in The BMJ, also found an ALA association with a slightly higher risk of cancer mortality.

Dr. Omid Sadeghi, one of the study’s authors, said: “A higher intake of ALA, however, was associated with a slightly higher risk of cancer mortality, equivalent to 63 extra cancer deaths for the highest compared with lowest levels of ALA intake.”

Dr. Sadeghi, of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, added: “A dose-response effect was found for dietary ALA intake and cardiovascular disease mortality, such that a 1g per day increase in ALA intake - equivalent to one tablespoon of canola oil or 0.5 ounces of walnut oil - was associated with a five percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.”

He said higher blood levels of ALA were also associated with lower risks of mortality.

Dr. Sadeghi explained that due to the observational design of the studies, his team could not rule out the possibility that other unknown factors or measurement errors of food intakes might have affected their results.

Nevertheless, the scientists were confident that their conclusions made about ALA are robust and they said that their study adds to the growing evidence of the potential health benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Dr. Sadeghi added: “Further studies should examine the association between ALA and a wider range of causes of death to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the potential health effects of ALA, as well as to examine whether specific foods rich in ALA are differentially associated with mortality from cancer and other causes.”

Despite linking the highly beneficial effects of ingesting omega-3 fatty acids, the study also suggests that recommendations for how much to take should be approached with caution because ALA intake might slightly increase the risk of dying from cancer.

The research team say further studies are needed to be able to confirm the risk.