Jack of all trades is probably one way to describe walnuts. Known to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), decrease blood pressure, improve heart health, cognitive function as well as boosting hair and skin health, experts suggest there are a number of health benefits to be reaped from eating just a handful of walnuts every day. Eat them as they are or throw them into a smoothie; top your breakfast cereal with crushed walnuts or make a delicious curry with walnut paste gravy — there are a number of ways you can and should include them in your diet, according to Carol Berg Sloan, health research director at California Walnut Commission.
“Over two decades of published research shows that eating walnuts can positively affect various heart health markers. For example, consuming walnuts can reduce total cholesterol, raise HDL (good) cholesterol, reduce inflammation and show marked improvement in arterial function. Consuming walnuts has been shown to be beneficial in helping stabilise blood sugar levels in older adults and decrease the number and size of tumours in breast and prostate cancer in animal models,” she says, while admitting that, “much more research is needed in this area.”
Interestingly, recent studies also show that a daily intake of walnuts can go a long way in improving fertility levels in men — a growing concern these days. “A research project from the University of California in Los Angeles showed that walnuts added to the Western-style diet followed by healthy, young men can improve sperm parameters of vitality, motility, and morphology, which are all clinical indicators of male fertility,” she elaborates. She adds that one of the major challenges they faced during the study was finding men to participate in the group that didn’t eat walnuts!
Shooting down the myth that walnuts might not be all that great for those looking to curtail their fat intake, Sloan explains, “Current dietary fat recommendations emphasise consuming less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat. While walnuts are rich in polyunsaturated fat they are also very satiating which make you feel fuller and therefore, more apt to eat less.”
While the benefits of eating walnuts are many, the frequency of intake matters too. Sloan recommends consuming a serving of walnuts every day. “It’s better than eating a huge bowl in one sitting. The thing about walnuts is they can be included in just about any dish and fit any cultural cuisine. Blend them into your regular smoothies, bake them into breads, use them as toppings or use walnut meal to coat your fish and poultry, sprinkle chopped walnuts on your salads or just eat them as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. The options are endless.” In terms of size though, she advises sticking to a serving size of 30 to 80 grams.
Sloan does caution that these nuts have a shelf life and how one stores them is important. “They are the only tree nuts high in polyunsaturated fat and therefore omega 3 fatty acids; because of this, they should be stored in a refrigerator or freezer. Walnuts go rancid when exposed to warm temperatures for long periods of time. Heat causes the fat in walnuts to change structure, which creates odours and flavours,” she says.
(The writer was in California at the invitation of the California Walnut Commission.)
