For better mental skills and healing, eat pistachios and peanuts

A new study by researchers at Loma Linda University Health has found that eating nuts such as pistachios and peanuts on a regular basis can strengthen brainwave frequencies associated with cognition, healing, learning, memory and other key brain functions. Apart from improving your cognition and memory, nuts also help in protecting the heart, fighting cancer, reducing inflammation and slowing the ageing process.

In the study, researchers explored the effects of regular consumption of six nut varieties — almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts — on brainwave activity. Electroencephalograms (EEG) were performed on the participants who ate the nuts to measure the strength of brainwave signals.

The results, published in the FASEB Journal, showed that pistachios produced the greatest gamma wave response, which is critical for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning, perception and rapid eye movement during sleep. On the other hand peanuts, which are actually legumes, produced the highest delta response, which is associated with healthy immunity, natural healing and deep sleep.

“This study provides significant beneficial findings by demonstrating that nuts are as good for your brain as they are for the rest of your body. EEG wave band activity was then recorded from nine regions of the scalp associated with cerebral cortical function. All nuts were found high in beneficial antioxidants, with walnuts containing the highest antioxidant concentrations of all” said, lead investigator Lee Berk, Associate Dean at the varsity.

EEG wave band activity was then recorded from nine regions of the scalp associated with cerebral cortical function. All nuts were found high in beneficial antioxidants, with walnuts containing the highest antioxidant concentrations of all.