Eating nuts significantly reduces our chances of dying of heart disease or from cancer, say researchers.

Scientists found that the more individuals ate, the less likely they were to die over a period of 30 years.

A daily handful of nuts cut death rates from any cause by a fifth, reduced those related to heart  disease by nearly 30 per cent and lowered the chances of dying of cancer by 11 per cent.

The findings used data on almost 120,000 US men and women.

‘The most obvious benefit was a reduction of 29 per cent in deaths from heart disease – the major killer,’ said Dr Charles Fuchs, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who led the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

But we also saw a significant reduction in the risk of dying from cancer.’

The study found nut-eaters were leaner, less likely to smoke, and more likely to exercise, take vitamin supplements, and consume fruits and vegetables, than average.

But all these factors were taken into account by the researchers, who used statistical techniques to isolate the association between nut consumption and death rates.

‘In all these analyses, the more nuts people ate, the less likely they were to die over the 30-year follow-up period,’ co-author Dr Ying Bao, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said.

Dr Ralph Sacco, a University of Miami neurologist who also is a former heart association president, said the benefit may also come because nut eaters are less likely to need to eat something less healthy, such as crisps.

Death rates from all causes were cut by 11 per cent in those who ate nuts once a week, 13 per cent in those who ate them two to four times a week, and 15 per cent when nuts were consumed five to six times a week.

Those with a daily nut habit were 20 per cent less likely to die over three decades. The researchers examined data from two large US lifestyle studies conducted among health workers, the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

Participants filled in detailed food questionnaires every two to four years and the progress of their health was monitored. As part of the research they were asked to estimate how often they consumed nuts in a serving size of one ounce – around a handful.

The study showed that the effect on death rates was similar for ‘tree nuts’, such as walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, pecans and pistachios, and peanuts, which are not true nuts but beans.

Several previous studies have linked nut consumption with health benefits, such as reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and bowel cancer. But this was the first large scale study of the impact of nut consumption on death rates, the authors said.

The scientists, who received a research grant from the International Tree Nut Council as well as the US National Institutes of Health, wrote: ‘Our data are  consistent with a wealth of existing data in supporting the health benefits of nut consumption.’

Source: Mail Online