12 Amazing Health Benefits of Walnuts

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If you’re nuts about walnuts, well, you’re right to be! Walnuts have not only a great taste, but many fantastic health benefits, too!

Interesting Facts About Walnuts

  • Because of its resemblance to the brain, ancient Greeks called walnuts karyon meaning “head.”
  • Curiously enough, walnuts are also a “food for the brain.”
  • Humankind has been eating them starting 7,000 years ago.
  • It is one of the most nutritious foods known to man.
  • Romans called walnuts “Jupiter’s royal acorn.”
  • Originally from Asia, they were brought and traded in the West on the famous Silk Road.
  • The walnut tree has female and male flowers.
  • Walnut’s skin contains most of its antioxidants.

Are Walnuts Nutritious?

Walnuts are, in a nutshell:

  • 65% good, polyunsaturated fat
  • 15% vegetable protein
  • The rest – carbs (mostly fiber)

Because walnuts are rich in fats – the right kind fats like omega-3s, and omega-6s – they are an energy-dense, high-calorie food. However, there is a risk of increasing obesity or bad cholesterol.

Walnuts are an excellent source of vitamins (B6, B9, E) and minerals (copper, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, and zinc) and antioxidants (ellagic acid, catechin, melatonin, phytic acid).

Top 10 Amazing Benefits of Walnuts

1. Show Love to the Heart

Walnuts are full of so many nutrients. They not only improve the intake of valuable nutrients in your diet, but they also reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL) while increasing the levels of good cholesterol (HDL). They also decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, walnuts lower high blood pressure in people with hypertension or under stress. So, eat them as your heart desires.

2. Eat and Lose Weight

Eating fatty nuts to lose weight? No way! The truth is walnuts help you lose weight while eating good fats as well. How about that for a health benefit? How is this possible? I can assure you that you don’t have to run around with a sack of nuts in the back as weight lifting exercise. Then how?

Walnuts are very dense. They contain a lot of healthy fats (omega-3s and omega-6s), vegetable protein, and fiber. So when you eat them, they make you feel full and satiated, which means that you won’t have to eat many times and too much food during the day. You can include them in your salads (chopped), smoothies, veggie patties or burgers, pies, or eat them as a simple snack.

3. Improve the Digestive System

The minerals contained in the nut increases metabolic activities such as digestion. Also, due to their fat and fiber content regulate bowel movements, detoxify waste residues in the intestines, treats constipation, and improve the gut function in general. Some studies reveal that they also have prebiotic qualities.

4. Reduce Inflammation

Walnuts contain lots of nutrients that reduce inflammation in the body. Nutrients like polyphenols, omega-3s, magnesium, and tannins all aid in this inflammation reduction. These nuts are good news for people suffering from inflammatory conditions like diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

5. Uplift Your Mood

You could stare at a nut, make jokes about it (and its resemblance with the brain), and instantly uplift your mood. Or, you could eat it and have the same effects.

The omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts can help compensate for the lack of essential fatty acids (EFAs) in the body. Increasing fatty acids will help reduce hyperactivity, irritability, and bad moods. It also works in cases of stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression.

6. Skincare

Vitamins (especially vitamin E), minerals, and other nutrients in the nuts protect your skin from the damaging effects of free radicals, reduce wrinkles, and is suitable for dry skin.

Moreover, ground walnuts (the seed, not the woody shell) is an excellent natural exfoliator. It provides your skin with natural oils and nutrients, keeping it looking radiant, young, fresh, and elastic.

At the same time, it has astringent properties (due to tannins) and so it is excellent for oily skin as well, regulating the sebum production.

7. Luscious Hair

Walnuts nourish the hair with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients from inside out. Your hair grows faster, thicker, longer, stronger, and brighter.

8. Antioxidant Power in a Nutshell

Walnuts are a powerhouse of antioxidants in a nutshell. They are one of the richest sources of antioxidants in foods, ranking the second place after blackberries.

There are three most important antioxidants present in walnuts that make them so unique:

  • Quinone juglone
  • Tannin tellimagrandin
  • Flavonol morin

True, they sound like exotic names, but these natural antioxidants have fantastic powers to reduce the oxidative processes in the body.

9. Boost Male Fertility

Studies show that walnuts stimulate male fertility. Walnut consumption improves sperm quality, quantity, and motility in men.

10. Make Your Bones Stronger

Copper, phosphorus, and calcium in walnuts have an essential role in maintaining your bone’s health and density. The nuts aid in calcium absorption and, at the same time, reduce calcium elimination through urine.

11. Immunity Booster

If you need an immunity boost, know that walnuts are perfect for that. Being a rich source of antioxidants and nutrients thee nuts can stimulate immunity.

12. Power to Your Brain

Walnuts make your brain work better. Yes, it’s one of those foods for the brain. The content of omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and iodine make your mind function at its best. They improve memory and concentration.
Part of the healthy Mediterranean diet known to help Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, epilepsy, and other neurological problems, walnuts can boost your brain’s powers.

10 Ways to Include Walnuts in Your Diet

  1. Chopped in vegetable salads
  2. Sprinkled in fruit salads
  3. Finely blended (or ground) in sauces, dressings, and dips
  4. Ground-up or chopped in bread and cakes
  5. Sprinkled on top of yogurt, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate, mousse
  6. Chopped in wraps
  7. Diced in rice and pasta
  8. Chopped in stir-fry
  9. Roasted as a snack or in various dishes
  10. As oil in dressings, creams, etc.

Note: Walnut Allergy

Even with so many nutrients and such fantastic health benefits, walnuts trigger allergies in some people, and so you may want to be cautious when you eat them. Of course, you will avoid them if you are allergic to nuts. However, for most people, walnuts are safe to eat.