2 ounces of lightly salted peanuts daily for 12 weeks may help reverse a medical condition known as metabolic syndrome. According to a study conducted by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and published in the current online issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who ate peanuts had a two times higher likelihood of reversing their metabolic syndrome than those in a control group.

The study is a first-of-its-kind to look at the effects of peanut consumption on a medical classification that, according to the American Heart Association, affects approximately 23 percent of adults.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and diseases related to fatty buildups in artery walls. Those with metabolic syndrome are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and two times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease within 10 years than someone without it. Some of the characteristics of metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abdominal obesity, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

Dr. Samara Sterling is the director of The Peanut Institute, a non-profit organization supporting nutrition research and developing educational programs to encourage healthful lifestyles that include peanuts and peanut products. She joins Dr. Roizen today to talk about her work and this new research. 

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