HOW WALNUTS CAN HELP YOU MAKE EVERYDAY HEALTHY
This National Walnut Day, here’s a gentle reminder of why walnuts deserve to be in your everyday diet. – Ryan Fernando, Celebrity Nutritionist and Founder QUA Nutrition –Signature Nutrition Clinic Nutritious, healthy food can be delicious and SO versatile – if there’s any food item that can make us believe this statement 100 percent, it’s California Walnuts! Whether consumed straight out of the shell, chopped or ground into walnut our, blended into butter or milk, or added to curries, these walnuts provide us with an array of essential nutrients that support our health. To be precise, a handful of California walnuts (approx. 28g) boasts 2.5g of plant-based omega-3 ALA, 4g protein, and 2g of ber. And that’s not it, California walnuts are grown and processed under strict quality control standards to deliver a high-quality product for you and your family to enjoy year-round. They come with a promise of mild, creamy avor, and soft, pleasant texture – which makes them an excellent choice for a variety of dishes. The secret to this amazing nutritional content, high quality, and pleasing avour lies in the orchard to table process, followed by our team at California Walnuts, including the stringent quality controls that are laid down – all to ensure only the best walnuts reach you and your family.
How Walnuts Can Help You Make Everyday Healthy
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A nut this nutritious and avorsome deserves to be celebrated, and rightly so, every year, May 17 is marked and celebrated as National Walnut Day. Yes, in the middle of summer because even though many believe it is a winter food, walnuts can be enjoyed all year round and may help you stay fueled, focused, and energized.
Over three decades of research have shown that walnuts may be bene cial for our cardiovascular health. They help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and decrease blood pressure, two of the major risk factors for heart disease. And that’s not it. Research has shown the potentially bene cial role of plant-based omega-3 ALA in walnuts in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.
On the occasion of National Walnut Day this year, allow us to reiterate with research-backed bene ts on why you must choose California walnuts over the regular. Also, we have a quick guide on simple ways to incorporate them into your meals – from breakfast to dinner.
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Of all the essential nutrients and fats that our body needs for overall health, the omega-3 fatty acid is one that our body can’t build from scratch, and hence it is dependent on foods that are a rich source of the same. Walnuts are the only nut that are an excellent source of plant-based omega-3 ALA – 2.5 g per 28 g – an essential nutrient that plays a role in healthy aging, heart and brain health. Rich in antioxidants Among tree nuts and peanuts, walnuts have the greatest amount of polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that is a bene cial plant compound that may play a role in various diseases and health outcomes. The polyphenols in walnut may also play a bene cial role in cancer, heart health, cognitive health, and in ammation. Way to a healthy heart
Loaded with Plant-Based Omega-3 fatty acids
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A healthy gut too! In the past couple of years, amid the pandemic, gut health has enjoyed a lot of spotlight, and why wouldn’t it! After all, it contributes to a strong immune system, heart and brain health, among other bene ts. It is found that walnuts may play a role in a healthier gut. It’s mainly their prebiotic potential that contributes to positive changes in the 1,2,3 6,7
Reference: Sala-Vila A, Guasch-Ferré M, Hu FB, et al. Dietary α-linolenic acid, marine ω-3 fatty acids, and mortality in a population with high sh consumption: ndings from the PREvención con DIetaMEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5(2):e002077. doi:10.1161/JAHA.116.002077
gut microbiome. Weight management made easy One of the grave problems that Indians are facing today is obesity. As per the Indian Journal of Community Medicine, India is presently home to over 135 million obese people. One of the saviors from this can be a handful of walnuts. As part of a healthy diet, these nuts provide the body with essential nutrients – from plant-based protein to good fats that help you feel full and satis ed for longer and promote weight management. Research has found that ‘an increase in consumption of walnuts and other tree nuts by half a serving per day is associated with a 15 percent and 11 percent lower risk of developing obesity and lesser weight gain’. From breakfast to dinner: How to incorporate walnuts into your meals California Walnuts, also great plant-based meat substitutes, are one of the most versatile ingredients, and these wonder nuts blend easily and soak in the avor of their fellow food to ensure elevated taste and avor. If you’re confused about how to incorporate walnuts into your daily meals, we’ve got a bunch of suggestions to get you started. Kickstart your day with nutrition-packed salted honey and walnut milk or a nutrition-packed orange, turmeric, and vanilla yogurt smoothie. From breakfast or brunch, spread some crunchy coconut and walnut butter on a slice of your favorite bread, or indulge in aloo walnut paneer paratha. For lunch, enjoy a couple of walnut chorizo tacos with pickled vegetables, or whip up a bowlful of pasta with walnut spinach pesto and mushrooms. During snack hours, when you’re craving food but don’t want an elaborate meal, munch on a handful of sweet and spicy sesame walnuts. And as far as the last meal of the day is concerned, how about you go all out and prepare some walnut paneer makhani with roti or rice? If that doesn’t sound appetizing or seems too heavy, you always have the option of this simple yet avourful walnut and tomato soup recipe to fall back on.
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Fleming JA, Kris-Etherton PM. The evidence for α-linolenic acid and cardiovascular disease bene ts: comparisons with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. AdvNutr. 2014;5(6):863S76S. doi: 10.3945/an.114.005850. Barceló-Coblijn G, Murphy EJ. Alpha-linolenic acid and its conversion to longer chain n3 fatty acids: Bene ts for human health and a role in maintaining tissue n-3 fatty acid levels. Prog Lipid Res.
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not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 2004. One ounce of walnuts provides 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat, including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid, the plant-based omega-3. 2Kris-Etherton P. Walnuts decrease risk of cardiovascular disease: a summary of e cacy and biologic mechanisms. J Nutr. 2014; 10: 39:2S-8S. Fleming JA, Kris-Etherton PM. The evidence for α-linolenic acid and cardiovascular disease bene ts: comparisons with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. AdvNutr. 2014;5(6):863S76S. doi: Baer/USD10.3945/an.114.005850.A/GutHealth/Jun012018, Parhofer/Univ Munich/Gut Health/Feb 22 2018, Lamendella/Penn State/Gut Health/Dec 18 2020 (citations noted below in Health Research section)
2009;48(6):355-74. doi: 10.1016/j.plipres.2009.07.002. Vinson JA, Cai Y. Nuts, especially walnuts, have both antioxidant quantity and e cacy and exhibit signi cant potential health bene ts. Food Funct. 2012;3(2):134–140. doi:10.1039/c2fo10152a Sánchez-González C, Ciudad CJ, Noé V, Izquierdo-Pulido M. Health bene ts of walnut polyphenols: An exploration beyond their lipid pro le. Crit Rev Food SciNutr. 2017;57(16):3373–3383.
Rujuta Sachin Hadaye, Rukman Mecca Manapurath, Barsha Pathak Gadapani. Obesity prevalence and determinants among young adults, with special focus on normal-weight obesity; a crosssectional study in Mumbai. DOI: 10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_408_19 Liu X, Li Y, Guasch-Ferré M, et al. Changes in nut consumption in uence long-term weight change in US men and women. BMJ NutrPrev Health. 2019;2:doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000034. California All
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