Walnuts for good health?

Recently the walnut industry has been advertising walnuts a lot on TV.   Eat walnuts for heart health, put walnuts on your salad.  Are walnuts good for your health?  Dr. Oz wrote a column with “walnuts: the superfood” and a posted blog post, The Wonderful Walnut.  So why does Dr. Oz and many nutritionists think walnuts are a superfood?
  1. Omega-3 fats – these fats are the “good” fats, the fat that is good for our hearts.  Walnuts are full of omega-3’s.  Studies have shown that eating walnuts actually improves heart health.  How?  By lowering the bad cholesterol, LDL and even helping to lower blood pressure.  Omega-3’s are also good for reducing inflammation.
  2.  Diabetes – eating walnuts helps lower blood sugar and reduces your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  (Nuts Good for Some with Diabetes).  Eating walnuts 2-3 times a week is helpful in lowering Type 2 diabetes risk. 
  3. Vitamin E, manganese, copper – all provided by walnuts
What amount of walnuts are good for your health?

All nuts are pretty high in calories because they do provide fat.  So overdoing it, is not the idea. But 2 ounces of nuts a day, including walnuts is a good health habit to adopt. 

How can you add some walnuts to your day?
  •  Sprinkle walnut chips on a salad
  •  Sprinkle 1-2 Tablespoons of chopped walnuts on some whole grain cereal.  I like to sprinkle walnuts on a bowl of oatmeal.
  • Take some walnut halves in a baggie to eat as a snack – a very healthy snack.
  • Put some on some whole grain pasta
  • Add some walnut halves to green beans mixed with olive slices and sun-dried tomatoes
  • Make your own trail mix that includes some walnuts – walnuts, dried cherries, dark chocolate chips and some 100% whole grain cereal (Wheat Chex) or 100% whole wheat pretzels.
For some healthy recipes using walnuts, go to walnuts.
 
Sources:  The Wonderful Walnut, walnuts, Walnuts and type 2 diabetes,  Image source:  walnuts


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