Thursday November 2nd, 2023

Properties and benefits of walnuts

We have heard it said many times that walnuts bring a great number of benefits, but like with many foods, people say a lot of things and we end up not knowing what is true and what is not. So we are going to look at the properties and the benefits that walnuts provide us and how we can incorporate them into our daily diet.

Walnuts are rich in proteins, healthy fats, fiber, natural sterols, antioxidants and many vitamins and minerals. The walnut is the king of the nuts as many studies show that they help to strengthen our health in many ways.

Some of the most interesting properties of walnuts include:

  1. To fight against cancer

Walnuts can help to reduce prostate and breast cancer. According to various studies, just a handful of walnuts each day can reduce the risk of breast cancer by half.

  1. Walnuts are good for the heart

Walnuts contain the amino acid, L-arginine, which has many vascular benefits for people with heart diseases and it is also helpful for healthy cholesterol levels.

Walnuts also contain omega-3 vegetable fats, an anti-inflammatory which can prevent the formation of pathological blood clots.

  1. Powerful antioxidants

Antioxidants are crucial for our healthy well-being as they help us to fight free radicals and control the normal aging process of our skin as we get older.

  1. Weight control

Adding healthy quantities of nuts into our diet can help us to maintain the ideal weight in the long term. Eating nuts such as walnuts is also linked with increased satiety after just three days.

  1. Mental health

A number of studies show that eating walnuts can benefit mental health, as well as increase inferential reasoning in young people thanks to the vitamin E, folic acid, melatonin, omega-3 and antioxidants contained in walnuts.

  1. Diabetes

The beneficial fats in walnuts are proven to improve metabolic parameters for people with type 2 diabetes. A significant decrease in fasting insulin levels was experience by overweight adults with type 2 diabetes who ate a quarter of a cup of walnuts each day compared with those who did not, and the benefits were achieved within the first three months.

Here at El Naturalista we are aware of the benefits that walnuts and nuts in general can bring to our health and in terms of looking after our healthy diet.