A research conducted at an American university has demonstrated that eating only 5 walnuts every day is enough to protect us from heart disease. Moreover, regular consumption ensures lasting protection against cardiovascular diseases.
Researchers have shown that nuts provide very good protection against heart diseases: they improve cholesterol levels in the body and the flexibility of blood vessels, thus ensuring good blood circulation. And these improvements happen just four hours after eating some nuts!
The consumption of just five nuts, four times per week, helps to reduce the risk of heart disease, explains Dr. Penny Kris Eterton, professor of nutrition at Penn State University, Pennsylvania.
This study is the first of its kind. The same study also demonstrated that walnut oil may be very effective in improving the health of blood vessels, and the effect happens within four hours after consumption. The doctor recommends 3 tsp walnut oil per day, which can be used in salads, for example.
Also, walnut oil is great for the endothelial cells, the cells responsible for the flexibility of blood vessels.
(The endothelial cells are the cellular interface between the circulating blood and the surrounding tissues. The endothelial cells in the human body weigh about 1 kg and their combined surface area would be about 5-10 square meters.)
Other benefits of walnuts
- Fatty acids found in nuts are essential for a healthy brain. Also, omega-3 fatty acids assure the proper functioning of the nervous system, and the improvement of memory.
- Eating walnuts may help prevent breast cancer. Frequent consumption of nuts is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer. It is therefore recommended to consume nuts to reduce the possibility of this type of cancer.
- Because they contain an essential fatty acid known as linolenic acid, eating walnuts helps to maintain bone health and it makes bones stronger by decreasing inflammation.
- Nuts help you to manage stress and to enjoy a better sleep. They are among the few foods that contain melatonin, an antioxidant hormone with an important role in regulating the physiological state and in inducing sleep.