A small brain-shaped healthy powerhouse packed in a tough and tight nutshell. Ready to deliver energy. Walnuts provide healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and that’s just the beginning of how they may support your health. Walnuts are most often eaten on their own as a snack but can also be added to salads, pasta, breakfast cereals, soups, and baked goods.
Walnut is one of the very common ingredients in our daily life. We consume walnuts in chocolates, cakes, cookies, etc. Although they are slightly bitter in taste, people love them. There are two types of walnuts-black and normal brownish one that you all must be aware of. Both the types are really beneficial for our body, let’s see how.
Health Benefits Of Walnuts!
Walnut Contents
Nutritions
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 0.7g
- Water: 4%
- Fat: 18.5g
- Protein: 4.3g
- Carbs: 3.9g
- Fiber: 1.9g
Vitamins & Quick Health Benefits
- Vitamin B6: helping to strengthen your immune system and help in nerve health. Also, Vitamin B6 deficiency may cause anemia
- Vitamin E: contains a high amount of special forms of gamma-tocopherol as compared to other nuts. It has the power to reduce inflammation, anti-aging, potentially promoting anti-cancer and other benefits.
- Folic acid: Also known as folate or vitamin B9, folic acid has many important biological functions. Folic acid deficiency during pregnancy may cause birth defects.
- Manganese: helping with protein and amino acid digestion and utilization, as well as the metabolism of cholesterol and carbohydrates.
- Copper: mineral promotes heart health. It also helps maintain bone, nerve, and immune system function.
- Phosphorus: About 1% of your body is made up of phosphorus, a mineral that is mainly present in bones.
Walnuts Helping With Inflammation Diseases?
Inflammation is present at the root of many diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer, and can be caused by oxidative stress. The polyphenols in walnuts can help fight this oxidative stress and inflammation. A subgroup of polyphenols called ellagitannins may be especially involved.
Also, the high amount of fatty acid present in the walnuts helps in fighting the diseases. This has beneficial implications in a number of realms, including cardiovascular and oncology health.
Walnuts Help In Skin Ageing?
Walnuts are good for the skin as they are packed with vitamins. Stress levels play a role in age management. Vitamin B is an excellent stress and mood manager. Lower stress levels result in better skin. Increased stress levels can result in the earlier onset of wrinkles, thus inducing faster aging.
The presence of the B-vitamins, together with Vitamin E, a natural antioxidant, helps in fighting the free radicals induced due to stress. Which results in delaying the aging process.
Walnuts Helping In Heart Health?
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease is a broad term used for chronic conditions related to the heart and blood vessels. Due to the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the walnuts, they are very beneficial to the cardiovascular system. In many cases, your risk of heart disease can be reduced with healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating nuts. Walnuts are no exception.
In fact, many studies show that eating walnuts may combat risk factors for heart disease by, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol-reducing inflammation and improving blood vessel function, thus cutting the risk of plaque buildup in your arteries. These effects are likely caused by the beneficial fat composition of walnuts, as well as their rich antioxidant content. Also, it has been found that eating just a few walnuts per day can help reduce blood pressure.
Walnuts May Help Out In Some Cancers Too?
Test-tube, animal and human observational studies suggest that eating walnuts may reduce your risk of certain cancers, including breast, skin, prostate and colorectal cancers. Walnuts are rich in the polyphenol ellagitannins. Certain gut microbes can convert these to compounds called urolithins.
Urolithins can have anti-inflammatory properties in your gut, which may be one way that eating walnuts help protect against colorectal cancer. Urolithins’ anti-inflammatory actions could also help protect against other cancers. Moreover, urolithins have hormone-like properties that enable them to block hormone receptors in your body. This may help reduce your risk of hormone-related cancers, specifically breast and prostate cancers.
Walnuts Supporting Weight Control?
Walnuts help you feel full, which means that they increase satiety. In a well-controlled study in 10 obese people, drinking a smoothie made with about 1.75 ounces (48 grams) of walnuts once a day for five days decreased appetite and hunger, compared to a placebo drink equal in calories and nutrients.
Additionally, after five days of consuming the walnut smoothies, brain scans showed that the participants had increased activation in a region of the brain that helped them resist highly tempting food cues, such as French Fries & Cake.
Walnuts Brain Booster?
It may be just a coincidence that the shell of a walnut looks like a tiny brain, but research suggests that this nut may indeed be good for your mind. In a 10-month study of Alzheimer’s disease, mice fed 6–9% of their calories as walnuts had significant improvements in learning skills, memory and anxiety reduction, compared to a walnut-free control group.
Observational studies in older adults have linked eating walnuts to better brain function, including faster processing speed, more mental flexibility, and better memory. Having food rich in omega-3 fatty acids keeps the nervous system working smoothly and improves your memory. Though these results are encouraging, more studies testing the effects of walnuts on brain function in humans are needed to draw firm conclusions.
Watch Out While Eating. Resist from eating more than 3-4 at a time as they might give a cut in your mouth. Don’t the health benefits of walnuts harm you?
Go ahead and pack a daily routine for walnuts. It is tasty, and has got immense health benefits as you have read.These were some of the must-know health benefits of walnuts.
