July 2019 – According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, affecting approximately 17.9 million people in 2016¹.

A healthy diet is one component of the type of lifestyle that should be promoted to deal with this global health concern. Several healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet and a vegetarian diet have nuts as a key food component. Given their interesting nutritional profile, the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DNSG) of the EASD (European Association for the Study of Diabetes) commissioned a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to summarize the evidence of the association between nut consumption and the incidence of, and mortality from, certain CVD outcomes².

A systematic search, limited to human studies, was conducted in the PubMed and Cochrane databases. In total, 19 prospective studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis.

A 13% reduction in the risk of CVD incidence was observed up to a consumption of 10 g/day, compared to no consumption. For CVD mortality and CHD mortality, a 29% and 32% lower risk was observed, respectively, at approximately 15-20 g/day. Similarly, for stroke mortality, a 16% reduction in the risk was observed up to a consumption of 5 g/day.

In conclusion, a beneficial role of total nut consumption was observed in reducing the incidence of, and mortality from, different CVD outcomes.

The INC is the international umbrella organization for the nut and dried fruit industry. Its members include more than 800 nut and dried fruit sector companies from over 80 countries. INC membership represents over 85% of the world’s commercial “farm gate” value of trade in nuts and dried fruit. INC’s mission is to stimulate and facilitate sustainable growth in the global nut and dried fruit industry. It is the leading international organization on health, nutrition, statistics, food safety, and international standards and regulations regarding nuts and dried fruit. Press contact e-mail communications@nutfruit.org and telephone +34 977 331 416.

PDF version of the Press release can be found here. 

¹ World Health Organization. WHO Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). 2017: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds). Accessed July 12, 2019.

² Becerra-Tomás, N., Paz-Graniel, I., Kendall, C.W.C., Kahleova, H., Rahelić, D., Sievenpiper, J.L., Salas-Salvadó, J. (2019). Nut consumption and incidence of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular disease mortality: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Nutrition Reviews, doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuz042.