Walnuts not only appear to have nutritional benefits when it comes to reducing the impact of Alzheimer’s Disease, they appear to be heart healthy too. Reducing cardiac risk is an important feature of most government health planning and any dietary source which helps is to be promoted. This particular nut, the walnut, is also great source of protein, polyunsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.
One clinical study found that by eating 2 oz. of walnuts a day as part of a normal diet led to the claim that cardiovascular health could be improved especially with those suffering type 2 diabetes. In this study, 24 subjects were randomly assigned to receive for eight weeks, either an ad libitum diet which was enriched with 56 g of walnuts per day or one without (Ma et al., 2010). The blood vessel integrity improved as indicated by the better endothelial function in those who were placed on the walnut enriched diet.
A recent study from the University of Munich has demonstrated that consuming 43g of walnuts daily over 8 weeks significantly reduced the levels of non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) and apolipoptotein B (ApoB) which are markers for heart/vascular disease (Wu et al., 2014). Apolipoprotein is associated with plaque formation in the process of heart disease.
In this controlled study which was randomised, 40 subjects received either a walnut enriched diet and then a Western style diet which was crossed over. Each diet lasted 8 weeks followed by a 2 week wash-out period. There was a trend in the data for cholesterol reduction too.
The study builds on similar findings (Banel & Hu, 2009; Kris-Etherton, 2014) where the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) in the USA issued a qualified health claim for consumption of nuts generally in 2003 with a separate health claim for walnuts specifically, in 2004. Then it stated that a walnut consumption of 1.5 oz or nearly 42.5g with a low cholesterol and saturated fat diet helped reduce the risk of heart disease. The benefits are due in part to a high alpha-linolenic acid content although there appear to be other specific compounds implicated here too.
Products
If you are keen on consuming walnut halves as part of your diet, why not try those from Tree Of Life.
References
Banel, D.K., Hu, F.B. (2009) Effects of walnut consumption on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis and systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 90(1) pp. 56-63.
Kris-Etherton, P.M. (2014) Walnuts decrease risk of cardiovascular disease: a summary of efficacy and biologic mechanisms. J Nutr. 144(4) pp. 547S-54S. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.182907. Epub 2014 Feb 5.
Ma, Y., Njike, V.Y., Millet, J., Dutta, S., Doughty, K., Treu, J.A. Katz, D.L. (2010) Effects of walnut consumption on endothelial function in type 2 diabetic subjects: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Diabetes Care 33 pp. 227-232
Wu, L., Piotrowski, K., Rau, T., Waldmann, E., Broedl, U. C., Demmelmair, H., … & Parhofer, K. G. (2014). Walnut-enriched diet reduces fasting non-HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B in healthy Caucasian subjects: A randomized controlled cross-over clinical trial. Metabolism, 63(3), pp. 382-391. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2013.11.005. Epub 2013 Nov 12.
You raise some interesting points here. I enjoy nuts greatly and I always end up eating a lot of them because they taste great. But they don’t digest well, and when I take them out of my diet, it’s always difficult. Nowadays I only eat nuts occasionally, and I try very hard to eat just a few. For me, fish, beef and chicken are easier to digest. There is a chiropractor from Ontario, Canada called Dr. Ben Kim who believes that most people should not eat more than about a handful of nuts per day and I think he’s right on this point.