The walnut is a dried fruit that has many health benefits… proof by five!
- 100 g of walnuts contain approximately 700 calories.
- Walnuts are among the richest foods in omega-3s.
A French person consumes an average of 110 grams of walnuts per year. According to data from Rungis, this figure has been falling for twenty years. However, it should be eaten more, because the dry fruit has beneficial effects for health. Why Doctor gives you five reasons to swallow a handful of nuts regularly.
The walnut is a source of omega-3, with multiple benefits
Walnuts contain various healthy nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids. This category “brings together essential fatty acids, necessary for the development and proper functioning of the human body, but which our body does not know how to manufacture”, precise ANSES. Omega-3s reduce blood pressure and the level of triglycerides in the blood, responsible for cardiovascular diseases, but they are also essential for the proper functioning of the retina, the brain and the nervous system.
Walnut improves life expectancy
According to a study published in 2021, the consumption of nuts could also improve longevity. According to the conclusions of the authors, researchers from Harvard, eating at least five handfuls of nuts per week could save up to 1.3 additional years of life. “Especially in those who do not have very good food hygiene”, they point out. This quantity would also be associated with a 25% reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 14% reduction in death from any cause.
Fertility: the walnut improves the quality of sperm
The consumption of nuts would also be a solution to the deterioration of men’s reproductive health. Concretely, the dried fruit improves the quality of sperm. In 2018, Spanish researchers demonstrated this in a trial carried out with 98 men. They were divided into two separate groups, with a different diet for 14 weeks. Half of the participants consumed 60 grams of dried fruit (almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts) every day. At the end of the 14 weeks, their sperm was of better quality: the number of spermatozoa increased by 16%, their vitality by 4%, their mobility by 6%, and their morphology by 1%. According to the authors, this is mainly due to nuts. “Because nuts contain several nutrients in considerable amounts, which are involved in male fertility, we believe that the consumption of nuts, added to a Western-style diet, would improve sperm quality and functionality.”they conclude.
Walnut lowers bad cholesterol
Other scientific work, published in 2016, demonstrated that the nut could have positive effects on the “bad cholesterol“, LDL-cholesterol. They are based on a one-year trial, with a group of 245 women with different diets, one of which was enriched with nuts. According to the scientists’ conclusions, the women who ate the most nuts had higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and lower levels of bad cholesterol, which they believe are due to the healthier polyunsaturated fats in nuts.
Walnut helps fight stress
Another study showed that walnuts may have mental health benefits. An experiment conducted with Australian students proved that eating around 50g of walnuts every day helped reduce stress and anxiety levels.
If you want to eat more nuts, you can eat them raw, mashed or in oil form. They go just as well in sweet and savory preparations, and can also become a healthy snack!
