By Chaima Chihi & يورونيوز
Published on •Updated
A recent scientific study indicates that daily consumption of peanuts may help improve the brain’s response to insulin in areas related to memory in older adults.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The study was published in the journal “Food & Function” and was carried out by researchers at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, aiming to examine the effect of regular peanut consumption on the brain’s response to insulin as we age.
The experiment involved 31 healthy people aged 60 to 75.
The participants ate 60 grams of roasted peanuts with their skins and without salt every day for 16 weeks, then the researchers compared the results with another period during which they did not eat peanuts.
Improved brain response to insulin
The results showed improved insulin response in areas of the right hemisphere of the brain, including parts of the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, lingual gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus, which are areas involved in memory processes and other cognitive functions.
To measure this response, researchers administered insulin to participants through the nose and then used magnetic resonance imaging based on arterial blood labeling to measure changes in blood flow to regions of the brain.
Insulin plays a role in a number of brain processes related to learning, memory and communication between nerve cells.
The brain’s response to this hormone may become less effective with age, a change associated with age-related cognitive decline.
However, researchers have not shown that peanut consumption prevents cognitive decline or prevents the development of dementia, but they have observed changes in the response of specific brain regions to insulin.
These findings build on previous research by the same team on the same dietary intervention, published in the journal Clinical Nutrition in 2025, where results showed a 3.6% increase in total blood flow to the brain, as well as a 5.8% improvement in verbal memory after the 16-week intervention period.
Researchers believe that the nutritional composition of peanuts may explain some of these effects, because they contain unsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and biologically active plant compounds, as well as plant proteins.
Peanuts are also a source of the amino acid L-arginine, which the body uses to produce nitric oxide, a compound that helps regulate blood vessel functions and may in turn be linked to learning and memory processes.
Is eating peanuts enough to protect memory?
These findings still require further research to determine the extent to which changes in the brain’s response to insulin are reflected in memory and mental performance.
The experiment was limited to 31 people and the indicators observed by the researchers are not enough to say with certainty that peanuts protect against Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia disorders.
Conducting studies on larger numbers of participants and following them for longer periods would help clarify this relationship and determine whether the potential benefits persist over time.
Gn Health
