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Walnuts Through Time: Brain Food, Poison, Money, Muse

Science, when it comes to walnuts, is late to the party. Walnuts, for much of their long relationship with human beings, have been touted as brain food. According to the medieval Doctrine of Signatures, which ascribed therapeutic properties to plants based on their resemblance to specific parts of the human body, the crinkly kernels of the walnut —which do look creepily like brains—were a good bet for treating head wounds, headaches, mental illness, and epileptic fits.

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 Benefits of Walnuts That Will Make You Fall In Love with This Nut

At first glance, walnuts might seem pretty strange. They're wrinkly, oddly shaped, and resemble mini-brains. (You'll never unsee it!) But once you get past their peculiar appearance, walnuts are worth your attention. Highly nutritious, they're rich in good-for-you fats and antioxidants, plus vitamins and minerals to boot.

Articles of Interest

Five Ways to Enjoy a Walnut

In France’s Périgord region, never mind the truffles, foie gras and wine—at least for a day—because this country is ground zero of the noble walnut. Walnuts, like almonds, avocados, flax seeds and other things rich in good oils and antioxidants, are among the rising stars of the American whole foods health craze. But it never took a good word from Dr. Oz or Oprah to make this nut a favorite in the Périgord region of southern France, where walnuts have flourished for centuries. Mature orchards line the highways and carpet the Dordogne River floodplain, plots of sapling twigs sprout their first year’s leaves in adjacent plots, trees blossom with the promise of a bumper autumn crop, and heaps and heaps of nuts are sold in bulk in virtually every single market.

Afternoon Snack: Walnuts--The Latest Stress-Busters!

"According to a new study from Penn State, walnuts are a potent stress-fighter," she writes. "Researchers asked healthy adults with elevated LDL cholesterol (a.k.a. "bad" cholesterol) to incorporate walnuts into their meals and snacks. After about six weeks on a walnut diet, they lowered their blood pressure responses to stressful situations (like giving a speech), as well as their resting blood pressure, too."

Eating Walnuts Could Help Prevent Heart Disease

The researchers, from Penn State University, found 'significant' improvement in cholesterol levels just four hours after people ate walnuts or walnut oil.

Eating walnuts has some major health benefits

Looking for a quick snack that could be good for your gut and your heart? Try walnuts. For those trying to up their health game, or just continue with their healthy habits, eating walnuts as part of a daily diet can have some major health boosts, according to a new study.

In a nutshell

Eating a handful of walnuts a day can bring down your cholesterol level and protect against heart disease. Time to get cracking, says Dr John Briffa.

It’s good to eat walnuts, but is it true that they prevent heart disease?

It’s too early to say whether we should trust the research presented in San Diego, but it is safe to say that nuts can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet.

Superfood of The Week: Walnuts

This week, we’re starting with Walnuts— they are a wrinkly-looking globe type, but some say the walnut resembles a brain if you look hard enough. Walnuts contain mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which are both good fats for the body. They’re also rich in omega 3’s, zinc, iron, calcium, selenium, vitamin E and some of the B vitamins.

The Health Benefits of Walnuts

Making a bag of trail mix? Make sure to include a heaping serving of walnuts. They’re full of nutrients like omega-3 fats, fiber and antioxidants, and can help lower heart disease and boost your brain function. “The health benefits of walnuts are impressively broad,” says Amber Sommer, RD, LD. “They definitely deserve a place in your diet. They’re well-known for their healthy fats, and they also have benefits you might not know about, such as improving your gut microbiome.”

Walnuts for Weight Loss?

A handful of walnuts may be an effective weight loss tool. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other substances and, in moderation, have been linked to reduced risk of obesity and diabetes. They may also efficiently reduce appetite.

Walnuts: The Original Health Nut

The walnut is a surprisingly underrated health food. Studies show regular walnut consumption is associated with lowering bad cholesterol, raising good cholesterol and lowering risk for heart disease. In animal studies, walnuts have even been associated with slowing breast cancer growth. Walnuts are unique among nuts because they are the only nut to contain large amounts of alpha-linolenic acid, one of the two major types of omega-3 fatty acids. (Other sources of alpha-linolenic acid are soybean, canola and flaxseed oil as well as some green vegetables like brussels sprouts and kale.)

What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Walnuts Every Day

If you're not already a walnut superfan, buckle up—you're about to go nuts for this nut.

Why walnuts may help with weight loss

When people looked at desirable foods, the brain scans showed more activity in an area known as the right insula after the walnut smoothies than after the placebo drinks. Higher activity in that brain region may reflect enhanced restraint in the face of desirable (and less healthy) foods. That, in turn, may foster healthier food choices...

Resources

4 health benefits of walnuts and how much you should eat

The history of walnuts can be traced back to ancient Persia, where they were once meant for royalty. Eventually, walnuts made their way to California where they were listed in the state's top 10 agricultural commodities of 2021. Walnuts have been considered valuable throughout history, but why? We might find the answer by looking at the nutritional benefits of walnuts. Although walnuts are high in calories, they are also extremely nutritious with a variety of health benefits:

8 Health Benefits of Walnuts

Walnuts deliver science-backed health benefits, including boosting heart and gut health, reducing blood pressure, and improving male fertility. They are a great source of important nutrients and healthy fats. Walnuts can also help keep your brain functioning well as you age and may suppress cancer growth.