Daily 60-Gram Peanut Intake Boosts Brain Insulin Response in Adults 60 to 75
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Oct 29
Daily 60-Gram Peanut Intake Boosts Brain Insulin Response in Adults 60 to 75
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Oct 29
Summary
A 16-week trial in 31 healthy adults found that eating 60 grams of roasted, unsalted peanuts daily improved insulin response in right-brain regions tied to memory, including parts of the hippocampus and posterior cingulate.
Researchers measured the effect by delivering insulin through the nose and tracking blood-flow changes with MRI, targeting a brain pathway that can weaken with age and is linked to cognitive decline.
The study did not show that peanuts prevent dementia or halt memory loss, and the authors said the small sample means larger, longer studies are needed to test whether the brain changes translate into better cognition.
The findings extend the same team's 2025 work, which reported a 3.6% rise in total cerebral blood flow and a 5.8% improvement in verbal memory after the same 16-week peanut intervention.