America has a thing for peanuts (which are not actually “nuts” but legumes, like soybeans). Our peanut love might be good for our health, according to a new study published last month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“These results highlight peanuts as a source of dietary fats that may be linked to lower risk of [Type 2 diabetes,” said the study authors.
In the U.S., about one in eight people had diabetes as of 2024, and most (90% to 95%) had Type 2, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This type can be prevented with diet and lifestyle changes, the CDC noted.
Cardiometabolic risk – that is, risk pertaining to how the body processes energy and sugar coinciding with blood vessel and heart issues – “can be modified by dietary factors, including fat quality,” said the study authors. Type 2 diabetes is an example of a cardiometabolic risk, Advocate Health Care noted.
Peanuts are a particular boost to cardiometabolic health due to their distinctive fatty acid (FA) composition, the study authors explained. They are rich in very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFA), with “potentially favorable effects on cardiometabolic health.”
While peanuts are believed to be native to South America, according to The Peanut Institute, cultivation of peanuts as a commercial crop bloomed in the U.S. with the efforts of George Washington Carver. Around the turn of the 20th century, they were becoming popular as a roasted snack, in candy and as peanut butter.
Per capita intake of peanuts in the U.S. was over 7 pounds annually from 2016 through 2025, according to The Peanut Institute.
Today, peanut butter is a favorite for Americans. This April, research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that people in the U.S. are still “nuts” for peanut butter and that it accounted for 60% of all peanuts consumed in the nation. Additionally, the USDA noted that peanut butter is “increasingly recognized as a low-cost protein source.”
However, the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich often includes white bread and sugary jelly, which can mitigate the positive health impacts of peanut butter, Healthline noted. Sometimes peanut butter itself also has added sugar and other ingredients.
In the recent study, the researchers used data from the clinical trial ARISTOTLE and the prospective, population-based European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)–Potsdam cohort. They aimed to characterize the effects of peanut consumption on fatty compounds known as lipids in the bloodstream, known as the circulating lipidome.
“Peanut consumption induces changes in the circulating lipidome, largely involving VLCSFA-containing lipids, which are associated with lower T2D risk partly through [Body Mass Index],” they said. Furthermore, the researchers noted that clinical trials and meta-analyses show that peanut consumption does not promote weight gain and that “cross-sectional data have shown positive associations of peanut and peanut butter.”
Though this research paints peanuts in a positive light, eating them is not without risks. Many people have severe peanut allergies, and Audacy recently wrote about a lawsuit over an alleged peanut mishap at The Cheesecake Factory that reportedly sent a young woman to the hospital.
