IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p1848-d499229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nuts and Older Adults’ Health: A Narrative Review

Author

Listed:
  • Sze-Yen Tan

    (Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia)

  • Siew Ling Tey

    (Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand)

  • Rachel Brown

    (Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand)

Abstract

Although the beneficial effects of nuts on cardiometabolic diseases have been well established, little is known about the effects of nuts on age-related diseases. Given that age-related diseases share many biological pathways with cardiometabolic diseases, it is plausible that diets rich in nuts might be beneficial in ameliorating age-related conditions. The objective of this review was to summarise the findings from studies that have examined the associations or effects of nut consumption, either alone or as part of the dietary pattern, on three major age-related factors—telomere length, sarcopenia, and cognitive function—in older adults. Overall, the currently available evidence suggests that nut consumption, particularly when consumed as part of a healthy diet or over a prolonged period, is associated with positive outcomes such as longer telomere length, reduced risk of sarcopenia, and better cognition in older adults. Future studies that are interventional, long-term, and adequately powered are required to draw definitive conclusions on the effects of nut consumption on age-related diseases, in order to inform dietary recommendations to incorporate nuts into the habitual diet of older adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Sze-Yen Tan & Siew Ling Tey & Rachel Brown, 2021. "Nuts and Older Adults’ Health: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1848-:d:499229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1848/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1848/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Johannesson, Magnus & Johansson, Per-Olov, 1997. "Quality of life and the WTP for an increased life expectancy at an advanced age," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 219-228, August.
    2. Yoona Kim & Jennifer B Keogh & Peter M Clifton, 2019. "Does Nut Consumption Reduce Mortality and/or Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease? An Updated Review Based on Meta-Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-15, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joan Costa-Font & Frank Cowell & Joan Costa-i-Font, 2024. "Specific Egalitarianism? Inequality Aversion across Domains," CESifo Working Paper Series 11261, CESifo.
    2. K. R. Shanmugam, 2011. "Discount Rate for Health Benefits and the Value of Life in India," Working Papers id:4524, eSocialSciences.
    3. Olivier Chanel & Pascale Scapecchi & Jean-Christophe Vergnaud, 2006. "How to correctly assess mortality benefits in public policies," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 759-776.
    4. Costa-Font, Joan & Rovira-Forns, Joan, 2008. "Who is willing to pay for long-term care insurance in Catalonia?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 72-84, April.
    5. Mihaela Onofrei & Anca-Florentina Vatamanu & Georgeta Vintilă & Elena Cigu, 2021. "Government Health Expenditure and Public Health Outcomes: A Comparative Study among EU Developing Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-13, October.
    6. Henrik Hammar & Olof Johansson‐Stenman, 2004. "The value of risk‐free cigarettes – do smokers underestimate the risk?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 59-71, January.
    7. Thijs Dekker & Roy Brouwer & Marjan Hofkes & Klaus Moeltner, 2011. "The Effect of Risk Context on the Value of a Statistical Life: a Bayesian Meta-model," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 597-624, August.
    8. Hostenkamp, Gisela & Stolpe, Michael, 2008. "The social costs of health-related early retirement in Germany: Evidence from the German Socio-economic panel," Kiel Working Papers 1415, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    9. Johannesson, Magnus & Johansson, Per-Olov, 1997. "Quality of life and the WTP for an increased life expectancy at an advanced age," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 219-228, August.
    10. Fimpel, Julia & Stolpe, Michael, 2006. "The welfare costs of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe: An empirical assessment using the economic value-of-life approach," Kiel Working Papers 1297, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Shihomi Ara & Cem Tekeşin, 2017. "The Monetary Valuation of Lifetime Health Improvement and Life Expectancy Gains in Turkey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-27, September.
    12. Lawless, Lydia J.R. & Drichoutis, Andreas & Nayga, Rodolfo & Threlfall, Renee T. & Meullenet, Jean-François, 2012. "Identifying product attributes and consumer attitudes that impact willingness-to-pay for a nutraceutical-rich juice product," MPRA Paper 53023, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Jan 2014.
    13. Tilling, C & Krol, M & Tsuchiya, A & Brazier, J & van Exel, J & Brouwer, W, 2009. "Measuring the value of life: exploring a new method for deriving the monetary value of a QALY," MPRA Paper 29911, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Hammitt, James K., 2023. "Consistent Valuation of a Reduction in Mortality Risk using Values per Life, Life Year, and Quality-Adjusted Life Year," TSE Working Papers 23-1431, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    15. Mark Pennington & Rachel Baker & Werner Brouwer & Helen Mason & Dorte Gyrd Hansen & Angela Robinson & Cam Donaldson & the EuroVaQ Team, 2015. "Comparing WTP Values of Different Types of QALY Gain Elicited from the General Public," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(3), pages 280-293, March.
    16. Vasquez-Lavín, Felipe & Ponce Oliva, Roberto D. & Hernández, José Ignacio & Gelcich, Stefan & Carrasco, Moisés & Quiroga, Miguel, 2019. "Exploring dual discount rates for ecosystem services: Evidence from a marine protected area network," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 63-80.
    17. James K. Hammitt, 2023. "Consistent valuation of a reduction in mortality risk using values per life, life year, and quality‐adjusted life year," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(9), pages 1964-1981, September.
    18. A. Freeman, 2006. "Valuing Environmental Health Effects – An Economic Perspective," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 34(3), pages 347-363, July.
    19. Costa-Font, Joan & Cowell, Frank, 2024. "Specific egalitarianism? Inequality aversion across domains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124423, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Rachel Baker & Anna Bartczak & Susan Chilton & Hugh Metcalf, 2012. "Did people "buy" what was "sold"? A qualitative evaluation a Contingent Valuation survey information set for gains in life expectancy," Working Papers 2012-16, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1848-:d:499229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.