Eating pistachios, peanuts may boost mental skills, memory

New York, Nov 16 (IANS) Daily consumption of nuts such as peanuts and pistachios can strengthen brainwave frequencies associated with cognition, healing, learning, memory and other key brain functions, a study has found.

Nuts have been known to play a crucial role in protecting the heart, fighting cancer, reducing inflammation and slowing the ageing process.

In the study, researchers from the Loma Linda University in California 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," 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.