Eating Nuts to Help Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease

Nuts are nutrient-dense snacks that contain protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Certain nuts are also high in "good" fats which can help lower your risk for heart disease.

Let's go a bit deeper into the nutritional content of nuts, including which nuts you should opt to munch on to optimize your heart health.

Do Nuts Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease?

Nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, contain high amounts of unsaturated fat or “good” fats.

A 2023 review of studies found that nut consumption is associated with decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol, with no significant effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies also found a significant decrease in LDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides after nut consumption.

LDL is a “bad” cholesterol because it clogs up your arteries. This is why high LDL levels increase a person's risk of heart attacks and strokes.

HDL, on the other hand, is your "good" cholesterol because it carries "bad" cholesterol away from the arteries to the liver. Lower HDL levels are linked to heart disease, whereas higher HDL levels may actually help prevent heart attacks and strokes. 

Nuts may provide other heart and overall health advantages. Nut consumption is associated with a reduced waist circumference, which is a predictor of how much fat surrounds the organs in your abdomen. Having too much visceral fat increases your chance of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

The health benefits of eating nuts are best studied in walnuts, a type of nut that is especially high in omega-3 fatty acids, the same "good" fats found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, and albacore tuna.

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids have several heart benefits, such as:

• Lowering your risk of abnormal heart rhythms that can cause sudden death (However, omega-3 supplements, especially at higher doses, are associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation.)
• Decreasing triglyceride levels 
• Slowing the rate of artery-clogging 
• Slightly lowering blood pressure

Other nutrients in nuts with health benefits include: 

• Folic acid, a B vitamin that reduces total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels and is necessary for the formation of new cells.
• Potassium, a mineral that reduces the effects of sodium in your body, assists with the breakdown of carbohydrates and helps control your heart's electrical activity.
• Vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects your cells from damage by free radicals and maintains metabolic processes.
• Arginine, an amino acid found in high amounts in nuts that help your body make nitric oxide, which relaxes constricted blood vessels.

The Best Nuts to Lower Your Cholesterol

All in all, the best nuts to lower your cholesterol have the highest amounts of unsaturated fats and the lowest amount of saturated fats. These include, but are not limited to:

• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Pecans
• Pistachios 
• Almonds

Peanuts, too are heart-healthy, which may surprise you. In fact, the peanut is the most popular "nut" (really a legume) in the United States and contains high amounts of unsaturated fat and lower amounts of saturated fat.

The peanut's unsaturated fat profile encourages heart health. Even so, farmers have now developed a way to grow high-oleic peanuts, which have a higher content of unsaturated fat and lower content of saturated fat when compared with regular peanuts.

Finally, it's worth noting that dry roasted, lightly salted nuts appear to have similar health benefits as eating raw nuts, according to a study in the European Journal of Nutrition. In this study, 72 participants consumed 30 grams per day of either raw or dry roasted, lightly salted hazelnuts for 28 days. Heart disease factors like cholesterol levels and blood pressure were measured at the beginning of the study and at the end.

Results revealed that compared to the beginning of the study, eating either form of hazelnuts (raw or dry roasted, lightly salted) significantly improved HDL levels and blood pressure, without a change in body fat. 

Nuts Are Heart Healthy, but in Moderation

Of course, like most foods, balance is key, meaning while eating nuts is good for your health, you do not want to overdo it. With that, according to the American Heart Association, if you are following a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet, you should consume 4 to 5 servings a week of nuts, seeds, or legumes. A serving size is equivalent to a small handful (1.5 ounces of nuts) or 2 tablespoons of nut butter. 

A Word From Verywell

When packing your lunch or reaching into your pantry for a snack, grab a handful of nuts or slather some nut butter on an apple slice, instead of reaching for salty chips or crackers. You can even incorporate nuts into your other meals. Try stirring nuts into your oatmeal in the morning or a stir-fry at dinner. 

In the end, consuming nuts in moderation is a sensible healthy choice you can make for your heart—this is in addition to exercise, eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and maintaining a normal weight.