Research

Mixed

Consuming nuts two or more times per week is associated with a significantly reduced risk of sudden cardiac death compared to rare or no consumption.

Aim to eat a small handful (about 1 ounce) of nuts at least twice a week. This habit is linked to a significantly lower risk of sudden cardiac death in men. You do not need to eliminate other foods to make room for nuts; just ensure your overall calorie intake stays stable. Focus on variety, as walnuts provide specific antiarrhythmic fatty acids.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Compared with men who rarely or never consumed nuts, those who consumed nuts 2 or more times per week had reduced risks of sudden cardiac death (relative risk, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.30-0.92)
Christine M. Albert et al. · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2002

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (n=21,454) with long follow-up (17 years) and multivariate adjustment, but observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Nut Consumption and Decreased Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Physicians' Health Study

Christine M. Albert et al. · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2002

DOI 10.1001/archinte.162.12.1382

cohort · n=21454Cited 396×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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