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Peanuts May Be the Cheapest Brain Food
Two handfuls a day may support memory and brain blood flow in older adults
For most of my life, peanuts came in a paper bag at the ballpark, shells cracking underfoot, salt on my fingers and a hot dog in the other hand. Nobody in the bleachers thought they were eating brain food.
Peanuts have spent decades as the snack world’s participation trophy. They’re cheap and they’re everywhere, and they never get invited to the “superfood” party with the blueberries and the $14 bag of goji berries.
A pair of studies out of the Netherlands suggests the humble peanut may deserve a promotion, especially for those of us old enough to walk into a room and forget why. Eating about two handfuls a day was linked to better blood flow in the brain and a modest bump in memory among healthy older adults.
It isn’t a miracle cure, and the researchers are careful to say so. But it may be the cheapest brain-health habit you can pick up at the grocery store.
What the Researchers Found
The study came from the Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, known as NUTRIM, at Maastricht University Medical Center. Researchers recruited 31 healthy adults between 60 and 75 years old.
