13 Reasons You Should be Eating a Lot More Walnuts
1. Reduce Your Risk of Death
In one PREDIMED study that involved humans, a Mediterranean diet was assessed and it was discovered that walnuts reduced cancer death. In fact, the Harvard School of Public Health performed a study that involved 118,000 subjects and they found that persons that consumed a handful of nuts each day were 20 percent less likely to die from any cause over a 30 year period. If that isn’t reason enough to eat more walnuts, what is?
2. Inhibits Colorectal Cancer
Mice that were fed walnuts in a Harvard Medical School study found that they had a 27 percent slower growth rate of cancerous tumors and 33 percent smaller tumors when compared to mice that were fed a diet including corn oil. It’s believed that the walnuts worked by significantly lowering angiogenesis.
3. Number 1 in Antioxidant Power
Other nuts can’t hold a candle when it comes to antioxidants. Walnuts have twice as many as any other nut. They also have the most potent type of antioxidants and the highest quality. One study measured the antioxidants in walnuts and found that they were 2 to 15 times more potent than vitamin E.
4. Walnuts Whip Stress
Penn State University researchers found that adding walnuts to a person’s daily diet can help the body prepare for episodes of stress. This study used 22 adults with elevated cholesterol levels then subjected these persons to stress. The subjects that had walnut oil and walnuts included in their diets had lower stress responses and lower blood pressure levels than the control group.
5. Improved Health for Diabetics
This next study proves that that fat in walnuts is beneficial to the body. Overweight adults who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were given ¼ cup of walnuts each day. Within the first three months of this study, these subjects had significant reduction in their fasting insulin levels when compared to the control group.
Another study performed in Australia used 50 overweight adult diabetics and then split them into two groups. Both groups received dietary advice, but one half of the group was given 30 grams of walnuts each day. The study timeframe was one year, but in the first three months the group that consumed walnuts was found to have significantly lowered their fasting insulin levels.
