WALNUTS FOR OMEGA-3S

Omega-3s are very important to our health and one way to get them is to eat walnuts. 1/4 cup of walnuts provides 113% of the suggested daily dose of omega-3s for an adult. This is especially important to people like me who don't eat fish. Make a habit of tossing some walnuts into your baked goods, adding them to salads, or just enjoy some as a quick snack.

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ANOTHER REASON TO EAT WALNUTS-1

Did you know that much of your body's immunity is in the gut or digestive system? As we face fear over disease it is important to have good immunity so you must take care of your gut.

A study from Pennsylviania State University in 2019 found that eating 2 to 3 ounces of walnuts per day as part of a healthy diet was associated with positive changes in the gut. The research found the fatty acids, fiber, and bioactive compounds of walnuts act as food for the microbiome and produce beneficial bacteria.

Just another reason to add a few walnuts to your daily diet.

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HOW TO OUTPACE A STROKE

Did you realize that every 40 seconds someone in the United States suffers a stroke? This information came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The good news is about 80% of these strokes are preventable! Two major factors contribute, independently, to most strokes.  These two factors are high blood pressure and high cholesterol. (Not a good thing for me as I have both and a history of stokes in my family.) Philip Ades, M.D. cardiologist, stated, "Hypertension damages blood vessels and high cholesterol can cause the buildup of fatty deposits that narrow arteries. That information can be scary but there are ways to work toward keeping your arteries strong and resilient.

• Snack on walnuts. According to research at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Medicine, eating 1-ounce of walnuts at least once a week was associated with a 17% reduction risk of stroke. Walnuts are a good source of heart-healthy alpha linolenic acid, a plant-based type of omega-3.
• Balance your work-life. Working more than 10 hours a day for 50 days out of the year was associated with a 29% greater risk of having a stroke according to a French survey. It appears the chronic stress and on-the-job demands negatively impacts vascular function and possibly increases the inflammation in your body.
• Faster walking. Are you a tortoise when walking? The Journal of Sport and Health Science found in a recent review that those who walked at a faster pace (3 1/2 mph) had a 44% reduced likelihood of a stroke compared to the tortoise walker (1 mph). Walking speed is an indicator of your overall aerobic fitness and blood vessel function.
• More Bananas. For decades it has been recommended that we curb sodium to control hypertension or high blood pressure. It is now suggested that we increase our potassium intake while we cut back on sodium. Getting nearly twice as much sodium as potassium is associated with a 22% greater stroke risk according to research in the journal Clinical Nutrition while consuming more potassium lowers this risk. It is suggested you limit your sodium to 2,300 mg a day and aim for 4,700 mg potassium. 

ANOTHER REASON TO EAT WALNUTS

I have discussed the benefits of walnuts on this blog several times but wanted to point out another reason walnuts should be a part of your diet. Walnuts contain compounds that help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol! It is also believed walnuts can even help repair damaged arteries. Walnuts, as with everything, should be eaten in moderation. I am not saying to sit down and eat a bag of walnuts but to include them in salads, etc and it is okay to eat a handful from time to time.

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WALNUTS ARE GOOD FOR DIABETICS (AND OTHERS!)

All nuts are good for diabetics (unless of course you suffer from an allergy to certain nuts!) but walnuts seem to be especially good for us diabetics.  I have often wondered why and I think I have discovered it to be the same thing that gives walnuts their heart-health benefits.

As with all nuts, walnuts are high in protein, fiber, and unsaturated fats and we know that is all very good for us diabetics as well as others.  But I didn't know that walnuts may also boost insulin sensitivity!  Now that would be a nice bonus!  But here is the interesting part.  Studies have shown that regular eating of walnuts seems to improve endothelial function in persons with diabetes.  Now you may be asking, "what in the world does that mean"?  Endothelia or the cells lining our arteries, is very important to our health and that is why I said earlier that this might be the same thing that makes walnuts heart-healthy, too.  The endothelia are some of the first things to suffer when high blood sugar (diabetes) begins to wreak havoc on the body.

You will notice the emphasis on the word regular in the above paragraph.  As with all foods, eating any foods a few times will not usually affect our health much either for the negative or the positive.  It is the regular eating of foods that makes our bodies what they are.

If walnuts are not already a part of your diet, you should probably add them!

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WALNUTS ARE NATURE'S MULTIVITAMIN AND A HAPPINESS FOOD

Walnuts are sometimes called the multivitamin designed by nature!  If walnuts are not currently a part of your diet, they should be!  Consider this list of vitally important nutrients packed into a little walnut:

• trace minerals
• macronutrients
• magnesium
• copper
• iron
• manganese
• zinc
• calcium
• omega-3s
• folate
• other B vitamins

And I have probably missed one or two!  And by the way, walnuts are also considered 'happiness food."