Walnut is known to be a healthy food, rich in nutritional value and energy.
Just released new research from a Barcelona's Hospital Clinico which appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, says eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries.
The study recommends eating an ounce (28g) of walnuts a day.
Researchers added five teaspoons of olive oil to the meal of one group of voulnteers. For the other, they added eight shelled walnuts.
Tests showed that both the olive oil and the walnuts helped to reduce the sudden onset of harmful inflammation and oxidation in arteries that follows a meal high in saturated fat.
Over time, this is thought to cause the arteries to start to harden - and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
However, unlike olive oil, adding walnuts also helped preserve the elasticity and flexibility of the arteries, regardless of cholesterol level.
Arteries that are elastic can expand when needed to increase blood flow.
Walnut is a wholesome super food. Previous studies have concluded that omega-3s contained in walnut help reduce the potential for heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and clinical depression.
Nuts in general are high in calories, so moderation is the key. The best approach is to reap the health benefits of eating walnuts but not add excessive calories to your daily intake.
Technorati tags: walnut, health foods, heart disease
No comments:
Post a Comment