MUNCHING peanuts could cut your depression risk by 17 per cent, a study shows.
Spanish researchers said the pub snack’s antioxidants help protect your brain.
Bruno Bizzozero-Peroni, of University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, said: “Our findings highlight yet another benefit of consuming nuts.
“This provides an even stronger rationale for people to become enthusiastic about consuming nuts.”
Around one in six Brits suffered depression in 2021, latest data shows, up from one in 10 before the Covid pandemic.
Women are twice as likely to have depression as men, research indicates, but are more inclined to seek treatment.
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Around 15 per cent get therapy or antidepressants, compared to seven per cent of men with the condition.
Previous studies have shown diet can have a big influence on depression, with antioxidant-rich plant-based foods like berries shown to be beneficial.
The latest study, published in the Elsevier journal Clinical Nutrition, looked at how eating nuts impacted people’s chances of developing the condition.
Researchers looked at data from 13,504 Brits aged 57 on average and tracked whether they diagnosed or used antidepressants.
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They were asked about their diets between 2007 to 2012 and were followed for around five years.
The nuts they ate included unsalted, salted and roasted almonds, cashews, pistachios, as well as peanuts, despite the latter technically being a legume.
People who ate a 30g handful of nuts every day were less likely to suffer depression than those who ate none at all.
Mr Bizzozero-Peroni said: “The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects associated with the nutritional composition of nuts could play an important role in reducing the risk of depression.
“Moreover, nuts are rich in amino acids, including arginine, glutamine, serine, and tryptophan, and lower levels of these amino acids have been associated with depression.”
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