7 AMAZING HEALTH BENEFITS OF WALNUTS - NUTRITION - 2024

The benefits and properties of walnuts are numerous: they fight cancer, improve heart health, reduce the risk of diabetes, help you lose weight and have a healthy mind…

As they say, good things come in a small jar. This is the case of the walnut, a simple and small food that is highly positive and recommended to put in our diet.

In general, the family of nuts is a gold mine translated to the well-being of our body, but the nut could be described as one of the best.

Nuts like walnuts are an ideal source of protein, healthy fats, fiber, plant sterols, antioxidants, and many essential vitamins and minerals for our body.

Within the field of nuts, the walnut could be the jewel in the crown since it is supported by multiple scientific investigations and its convenience in choosing the amount to be taken.

By just taking around seven shelled walnuts we could take advantage of most of its great properties.

Properties and benefits of walnuts

1) Cancer fighting properties

The high percentage of antioxidants and nutrients found in walnuts has been shown to help prevent the risk of cancer.

Various researches affirm that the intake of walnuts reduces the risk of cancer up to 30-40% in prostate cases and up to 50% in breast cancer.

Some of the properties of the walnut that favor cancer prevention are vitamin E (and more specifically the so-called gamma-tocopherol) and the reduction it makes in endothelin levels.

Gamma-tocopherol (very abundant in walnuts) has been shown to help fight breast, lung, and prostate cancer.

Also, walnuts reduce levels of endothelin, a compound that increases inflammation of the blood vessels.

Omega-3 fatty acids along with phytosterols found in walnuts have been shown to help slow the growth of breast cancer tumors.

According to researcher W. Elaine Hardman of Marshall University of Medicine, "Phytosterols bind to estrogen receptors, which may slow the growth of breast cancers."

Studies from Harvard Medical School indicate that a diet that includes walnuts can slow the growth of the colorectal tumor by causing beneficial changes in cancer genes.

'Our research shows that a walnut diet causes significant changes in the expression profile of localized colorectal cancer tissues. A diet with walnuts incorporates protective fatty acids in the colon tumor either through their direct effects or through additive or synergistic effects of multiple other compounds present in walnuts ", points out Christos Mantzoros from Harvard.

“Although future studies are needed, we are optimistic about the role of miRNAs as biomarkers of disease and prognosis. They may show a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of colorectal cancer. '

2) Benefits for the heart

Most studies on walnut have focused on its benefits for the heart and circulatory system.

Walnuts contain amino acids like L-arginine, which offer multiple vascular benefits for people with heart disease, or those at higher risk of heart disease.

In the case of having herpes, it may be best to avoid or limit walnuts, as high levels of arginine can deplete the amino acid lysine, which can trigger herpes recurrences.

Walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, and plant-based fat that is anti-inflammatory and can prevent the formation of pathological blood clots.

Different research shows that people who eat a diet rich in plant-based fats are less likely to have a heart attack (almost 50% less).

Eating just four nuts a day significantly increases blood levels of heart-healthy plant-based fat, and maintains healthy cholesterol levels.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition investigated the heart health benefits of walnuts in 365 participants, who were monitored during control diets and diets supplemented with walnuts. The results showed a significantly greater reduction in total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

3) Reduces the risk of diabetes

The consumption of walnuts has been shown to be directly related to the possibility of reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

According to the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association conducted exclusively for women, it is pointed out that the benefits of these nuts could be extended to the entire population.

In total, 84,000 American women between the ages of 34 and 59 were evaluated over a 16-year period. Women who drank about 28 grams a day (the equivalent of walnuts that fit in a fist) at least five times a week had about a 27% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

If consumption was limited to an average of 1 to 4 times a week, the risk decreased by 16% compared to those who had not tried them.

The results clarify that walnuts should not be added to the diet without more, but should substitute other foods to prevent calorie consumption from 'skyrocketing.

Yale University conducted other research with twenty-four adults with diabetes. The study consisted of including two ounces of walnuts in their regular diet. After eight weeks, blood flow and endothelial function improved significantly.

4) The best antioxidant

Antioxidants are an essential component for our health. These prevent excessive cellular wear and aging.

We live in a world that moves faster and faster and that demands more and more of us. Our life is full of chaotic situations that lead us to physical and mental exhaustion, therefore, a small dose of antioxidants is essential in our diet.

Small amounts are needed that vary according to various conditions such as age, physical activity, eating habits and health conditions.

Walnuts contain several unique and powerful antioxidants found in only a few common foods. These include juglone quinone, tellimagrandin tannin, and morin flavonol.

In addition, it has antioxidants so powerful to eradicate free radicals that it has attracted the attention of scientists.

Research has shown that walnut polyphenols can help prevent chemically induced liver damage.

In one of the latest research, walnut polyphenols had the best efficacy among the tested nuts and the highest amount of lipoprotein activity.

As a conclusion to this, it can be said that nuts are rich in the antioxidant polyphenol, which, when linked to lipoproteins, inhibits the oxidative process that leads to atherosclerosis in vivo. In human supplementation studies, nuts have been shown to improve lipid profile, increase endothelial function, and reduce inflammation, all without causing weight gain.

5) Helps to have a healthy mind

Walnuts contain a number of neuroprotective compounds, including vitamin E, folic acid, melatonin, omega 3 fats, and antioxidants.

Various scientific sources show that the consumption of walnuts can help mental health, including increasing inferential reasoning in young people.

One study also found that consuming foods high in antioxidants such as walnuts can decrease vulnerability to oxidative stress that occurs with aging, increase health span, and also improve cognitive and motor function of aging.

As neuroscientists from Boston University (USA) recently proved, adding nuts to our diet improves the performance of tasks that require motor skills.

This is so because it improves the connection between neurons due to its high content of polyphenols and other antioxidants.

A study published recently in the journal Neurochemical Research suggested that the extract of walnuts (the dried fruit once its fiber is eliminated) has protective effects against oxidative stress and cell death that occur in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. And all thanks to its content in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid of vegetable origin.

The journal Neurochemical Research disclosed that the extract of walnuts (the dried fruit once its fiber is eliminated) has protective effects against oxidative stress and cell death that occur in the brain of Alzheimer's patients.

The main cause of this is its content of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid of plant origin.

6) Get a flat stomach

Years ago, if your goal was to lose weight, nuts were understood as a food to avoid. Instead, more and more nutritionists are recommending them as a fundamental part of the weight loss plan.

The results of taking a handful of nuts a day for abdominal reduction and the fat in that area are proven.

Recent studies from the University of Barcelona published in the Journal of Proteome Research indicate that taking 30 grams of walnut a day for 12 weeks increases the body's serotonin levels, lowers blood sugar levels, and reduces the feeling of hunger.

Despite concentrating energy and containing fat, its nutritional quality and consumption in small amounts on a daily basis can improve cardiovascular risk factors and thereby help lose belly and treat obesity and its associated diseases.

Despite containing fat and a good amount of energy, its consumption in small daily amounts helps to lose belly, improves cardiovascular risk factors, and its associated diseases.

If it is very monotonous to take them raw, being a small food and not too strong flavor, it can easily be included in our diet through salads or included in a meal.

7) Increases fertility in healthy men

One of the great secrets of walnuts is their possible impact on male fertility in men who eat a Western-style diet.

Adding 75 grams (a little more than half a cup) daily, significantly improves sperm quality, including vitality, mobility, and morphology.

Walnuts may improve sperm quality in healthy men according to various studies, but now researchers want to know if they help men with fertility problems.

Their study is based on evidence that men's dietary and lifestyle habits could affect their fertility.

Walnuts are the only nuts with appreciable levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which some studies of male infertility link to qualitative improvement of sperm, according to researcher Wendie Robbins of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Trials in both animals and humans have shown that omega-3 fats and other polyunsaturated fatty acids "play a critical role in sperm maturation and membrane function," says Robbins.

Previous research showed that men with "poor" sperm noticed improvement after taking fish oil supplements rich in omega-3 fats.

A study published by the journal Human Reproduction found that high omega-3 fat intake was associated with an increase in sperm size over normal, while high saturated fat intake was associated with lower sperm concentration.