Walnuts Nutrition..A Cracking Good Nut!

Walnuts Nutrition

Ok, this isn't an expensive supplement, or a ground-breaking new drug, or even a newly discovered superfood...but what it can do for your health is nothing short of a miracle!

For starters it can cut your risk of a heart attack and diabetes, it will ease stress, help to prevent prostate and breast cancer, Alzheimer's and even lower cholesterol, some even say even libido boosting too.

So, what is this amazing thing, well a brown knobbly kernel actually?

The humble walnut. It's sort of sat in the background as far as nuts go, pushed to the back of the queue behind peanuts, almonds and Brazils.

But new research is claiming that walnuts actually have more free-radical fighting and disease protecting antioxidants than any other nut.

Used centuries ago by the Ancient Greek and medieval Brit doctors to treat headaches and mental illness. Their reasoning was that its skull-like shell and brain-shaped kernel symbolised its magical curative powers!

Walnuts Nutrition..It's All About The ALA's

In a lab study in which mice were fed 2 oz of walnuts a day, a significant decrease in their rate of breast cancer was discovered.

The nuts curative ability is belived to be down to its high content of essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols..unsaturated fats thought to slow or even prevent tumor development.

In fact the nut contains a particular type of omega-3 fatty acid, known as alpha linolenic acid (ALA). Now this ALA has special benefits for our brains and body, even to the point of helping humans to deal with the stresses of modern life.

To explain..when we feel 'under pressure' such heightened responses leave us open to a higher (or greater) risk of a stroke or heart attack. Well, the ALA in walnuts actually decrease the cardio-vascular reactions which happens in our bodies when we feel under pressure.

Walnuts Nutrition..Lowers Cholesterol

And the ALA's are also believed to lower cholesterol in such a manner that it will protect against bowel cancer according to a study of 52,000 Europeans and published in the medical journal Gut.

Walnuts also contain ellagic acid, which is a good antioxidant and is a great fighter of cancer on a few fronts, by disabling harmful oxygen molecules, free radicals known to instigate the cancer process.

Ellagic acid also helps to de-toxify potential cancer-causing substances, while also, at the same time, helping to prevent cancer cells from dividing.

So, with all these walnuts nutrition health benefits, you have to ask why we don't go stuffing ourselves with them?

Walnuts health benefit comes with a warning...they do have a high calorie count. Just two handfuls containg a whopping 650 calories. It's advised, through new research, that we should eat 7 kernels a day at the most.

On the other side of the coin, eating nuts does not appear to cause weight gain, in fact they are considered a great snack, making you feel fuller for longer, thus preventing over-eating. A 2009 American study claimed nut consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of obesity.

Walnuts have very versatile culinary uses. I have a handful on my morning porridge with blueberries Very tasty and offers an excellent crunchy texture too.

So, as you can see, this is quite an amazing little nut that is serious about keeping you healthy in many ways, just remember to invest in a good nut-cracker, otherwise you won't be able to get it out to enjoy all the benefits!

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