You might want to grab an extra handful of your favorite bar snack.
A new study suggests that a simple, everyday food can supercharge blood flow in your brain — a vital function that tends to weaken as we get older.
Researchers found that the boost not only sharpened memory but also improved participants’ heart health.
In the study, researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands recruited 31 healthy adults ages 60 to 75 and put them on a 16-week regimen in which they were asked to eat 60 grams of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts every day.
The portion — roughly two servings — had to be folded into their regular diets. Participants were told not to crush or heat the peanuts, since that could alter their nutritional properties.
The volunteers underwent tests at the start, midway through, and at the end of the trial. At each visit, blood pressure and body composition were measured, and in the final round they added cognitive tests and advanced imaging to track blood flow to their brains.
By the end of the study, the brain-boosting benefits were clear. Imaging tests showed a significant improvement in brain vascular responsiveness, or the ability of their blood vessels to widen and constrict to regulate blood flow.
After 16 weeks of peanut consumption, participants’ global cerebral blood flow (CBF) increased by 3.6% compared with the control period.
“CBF is an important physiological marker of brain vascular function and refers to the amount of blood that flows through the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients that are essential for maintaining brain health,” Dr. Peter Joris, the study’s author, said in a statement.
A low CBF is associated with cognitive decline and can affect specific functions like attention, psychomotor speed and memory.
When Joris and his colleagues examined the participants’ brain gray matter, home to the cell bodies of the brain’s neurons, they found blood flow had increased by 4.5%.
The frontal lobes experienced a 6.6% boost, while the temporal lobes rose 4.9%. These regions play key roles in memory, language, decision-making and emotional control.
These vascular perks translated into better recall. During a memory test, people who ate the peanuts recognized more words from a list they’d seen 20 minutes earlier compared to the control period.
“For the first time, we demonstrated that peanut intake improved brain vascular function in healthy older adults,” Joris said.
It’s an encouraging finding at a time when dementia is on the rise. More than 6 million Americans — about 10% of adults 65 and older — live with the memory-robbing disease, which claims over 100,000 lives each year. Experts expect that number to double by 2060.
“Our results suggest that eating unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts every day can support brain health as we age,” Joris told Psypost.
While memory improved, executive function and psychomotor speed didn’t shift significantly — at least not in this small group.
Scientists have some theories as to why peanuts worked: They’re high in L-arginine, unsaturated fats and polyphenols, which are all good for vascular health. Peanut skin also has dietary fiber and antioxidants.
Notably, the benefits didn’t stop at the brain. Participants’ systolic blood pressure also dropped by an average of 5 mmHg, and their pulse pressure fell by 4 mmHg.
These reductions are significant, since elevated blood pressure damages small blood vessels in the brain and heart, increasing the risk of both cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
In fact, studies suggest that people with uncontrolled high blood pressure in midlife face a 49% higher risk of developing dementia down the line.
And, surprisingly, despite adding 340 calories a day, the participants largely didn’t gain weight while eating the peanuts.
Next, Joris and his team plan to test whether other peanut products, such as peanut butter, provide similar benefits, and if smaller amounts could be just as effective.
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