A study found that a blood-lipid profile associated with peanut consumption was linked to a modestly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but it did not show that eating peanuts prevents the disease.
Researchers combined a six-month diet intervention with data from the long-term EPIC-Potsdam cohort. The intervention involved 63 healthy adults aged 18 to 33, who consumed 25 grams of roasted peanuts, 32 grams of peanut butter, or a control product with peanut oil each day. The cohort data were used to examine links between the resulting lipid profile and later cases of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The intervention changed 51 measures of fatty acids within blood-lipid classes, particularly compounds containing very-long-chain fatty acids. Researchers combined those changes into a peanut-related lipid signature and found it was modestly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. They found no comparable association with cardiovascular disease.
Body mass index appeared to account for much of the diabetes association, the researchers said. The findings describe a link between a blood-fat pattern and disease risk, not proof that peanuts themselves prevent diabetes. The authors said peanuts can be part of a balanced diet, while the study does not establish a preventive effect from eating them.