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Comment by thepoet | Hacker News Reader

Although this study was done on US population, nuts are costly here in India so a large section of population cannot afford to eat it on a regular basis. Could it be remotely possible that poverty lead to diseases, improper or no treatments, more accidents etc. lower life expectancy rather than "not eating enough nuts".

Mr. Gates would surely start a Nuts for India campaign to increase life expectancy.

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Nuts are expensive in the USA too. The same goes for anything grown here that isn't frozen.

I can get a big pizza from the freezer for six bucks. It is double that for individual ingredients to make a salad. And we wonder why healthcare costs are absurd.

Peanuts are dirt-cheap in the U.S., one of the cheapest sources of calories and protein (they're not a proper nut, but included in this study anyway).

According to Joel Fuhrman, MD, it is not nuts that are healthy, but seeds that are eaten raw. This includes things like sunflower, sesame and chia seeds. Peanuts is a bit different because it is a legume, but Fuhrman does include beans and lentils on his healthy list.

He even promotes healthy eating using the acronym GOMBBS: Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, Beans, and Seeds which you should eat every day.

But roasted peanuts, like any roasted nuts, have acrylamides which are bad. Better to boil the raw peanuts in a stew.

Sunflower seeds are quite cheap as well. Not a nut either, of course.

Are nuts (about 40% protein) expensive? Compared to what? I don't know about prices in the US but in Europe I would say they're a cheaper source of protein than meat (turkey breast around 30% protein, for example).

Google Scholar lists numerous published papers indicate benefits from eating nuts though there doesn't seem to be a coherent story as to why this should be so - yet - though I may have missed it.

Calorie wise nuts are not that expensive. A handful of almonds is 200 calories and only costs less than a dollar.

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