Walnuts - For Your Health!

Walnuts are on Dr Bowden's list of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. And it doesn't take much in a google search to find a wealth of information to support that claim.

Shelled walnuts look like brains, and yes, they are definitely brain food! Walnuts have the highest concentration of Omega3 of any nut. Walnuts' concentration of omega-3s (a quarter-cup provides 90.8% of the daily value for these essential fats) has many potential health benefits ranging from cardiovascular protection, to the promotion of better cognitive function, to anti-inflammatory benefits helpful in asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. In addition, walnuts contain an antioxidant compound called ellagic acid that supports the immune system and appears to have several anticancer properties.

Adding walnuts to your diet can be an important step in improving your cardiovascular health. Walnuts are an important source of monounsaturated fats-approximately 15% of the fat found in walnuts is healthful monounsaturated fat.

Twenty years of dietary data collected on over 80,000 women from the Nurses' Health Study shows that women who eat least 1 ounce of nuts, peanuts or peanut butter each week have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones. Since 1 ounce is only 28.6 nuts or about 2 tablespoons of nut butter, preventing gallbladder disease may be as easy as having a handful of walnuts as an afternoon pick me up, or tossing some walnuts on your oatmeal or salad.

Want a better night's sleep? Try sprinkling your dinner's tossed green salad, fruit salad or steamed vegetables with a handful of walnuts. Or enjoy a baked apple or poached pear topped with walnuts for dessert.

Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland, which is involved in inducing and regulating sleep and is also a powerful antioxidant, has been discovered in walnuts in bio-available form, making them the perfect evening food for a natural good night's sleep.

These are just a FEW of the benefits I found on walnuts - there is so much more out there!

A word of caution, though. As with most nuts, they can be high calorie. A 1/4 cup contains almost 200 calories so don't overdo it!

Have a Healthy and Joy-filled Day!
Love - Gerri