Long touted as "super food," nuts may actually help people live longer, a new study shows.

The largest study to date analyzing the connection between eating nuts and living longer has revealed that the protein-rich food could be the key for longevity, TIME reported.

Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers conducted studies with more than 76,000 women in the Nurse's Health Study and nearly 42,500 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

The subjects were quizzed about their nut consumption, including the quantity of almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios or walnuts they usually ate.

Participants who ate nuts regularly had a lower chance of dying from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. Those who ate nuts at least seven times a week had a 20 percent lower death rate after four years than people who didn't eat nuts.

Subjects who reported eating nuts were also prone to be leaner, more physically active and non smokers. The substantial size of the study gave greater credence to the association between nuts and longer life, which has been the conclusion of previous studies as well.

Scientists don't know how many nuts are needed to extend lifespan. Researchers also noted that the study's findings don't imply a cause and effect relationship between nuts and later death, but "the correlation is worth investigating further," TIME reported.

The food is part of the balanced diet recommended in the Dietary Guidelines of America, an option for the five to six ounces of protein public health officials advise per day.

The National Institutes of Health and the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation funded the research.

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