A daily serving of peanuts may affect how parts of the brain involved in memory respond to insulin, according to a small study of older adults.
Researchers at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands followed 31 healthy adults aged 60 to 75. For 16 weeks, participants ate about 60 grams of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts each day. During a separate control period, they ate no peanuts.
Brain scans showed that blood flow increased by about 4% after the peanut-eating period. The researchers also found greater insulin responsiveness in memory-related areas, including the hippocampus.
Insulin is best known for helping regulate blood sugar, but it also has functions in the brain, where it supports communication between nerve cells and processes involved in learning and memory. The findings were published in the journal Food & Function in September.
Kellyann Niotis, a preventive neurologist based in New York, said the results add to growing interest in insulin’s role in brain health. Still, the study was small and did not test whether eating peanuts can prevent cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease.
“I would not interpret these findings as evidence that peanuts prevent Alzheimer’s,” Niotis said, noting that it is unlikely any single food could have that effect. She said research has not yet established whether changes in brain insulin signaling lead to lasting improvements in memory or brain health.
The study was funded by the Peanut Institute Foundation. The researchers reported that the foundation had no role in the study’s design, analysis or publication decisions.
