Did you know that by consuming a handful of peanuts when you’re craving a salty snack, you’re actually improving your health?
Namely, recent research has found that eating a handful of peanuts in the evenings and nights prior to bed can help balance the blood sugar levels and minimize your risk of diabetes.
How can a Handful of Peanuts Help You Balance Your Blood Sugar?
The study which was published in May this year in the Current Developments of Nutrition journal was done with individuals with impaired fasting glycemia or IFG.
This type of pre-diabetes is known to elevate the glucose levels when fasting like between meals or when we’re sleeping; however, it’s not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.
The 51 participants ate one ounce of peanuts before heading to bed in a period of 6 weeks.
The scientists confirmed that these people’s fasting glucose levels didn’t just improve, but also their triglycerides dropped.
This is particularly beneficial if we take into account that high cholesterol is highly common in people with type 2 diabetes.
Studies done in the past have discovered that by reducing triglycerides, one can minimize the chances of heart disease.
Why Are Peanuts Good for the Blood Sugar?
Peanuts have a low GI of 14 which is what makes it beneficial for blood sugar spikes prevention that further lowers the needs for insulin.
According to Dr. Samara Sterling, a nutrition scientist and research director at the Peanut Institute, this research shows peanuts’ ability to normalize the blood sugar levels overnight, something a lot of diabetics are struggling with.
Moreover, the CDC notes that around 88 million individuals in the US currently have pre-diabetes; however, 84 percent of them didn’t know it.
No matter if you’ve been diagnosed with this condition or not, it’s never a bad idea to eat some peanuts before going to bed. Or, spread several tbsp of quality peanut butter on toast or crackers.
This recent research about the benefits of peanuts for the blood sugar levels also backs up a previous study done in 2002 which focused on the advantages of peanut butter for prevention of diabetes in women.
After closely observing 80,000 adult women during a period of 16 years, they concluded that peanut butter consumption 5 times per week lowered these women’s risk of type 2 diabetes by 21 percent.
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