Want to add some significant health benefits to your diet? Try a handful of walnuts each day. Yes, nuts are making a comeback as a powerful category of health foods and walnuts are leading the pack. Even the FDA allows specific health claims for walnuts as part of a heart healthy diet. Research shows that eating 1 ounce of walnuts (about 14 nuts) may reduce the risk of heart disease. This is because walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to help protect people from heart disease.

In September of 2002, the Food Nutrition Board of the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine released dietary recommendations that people must include omega-3 fatty acids daily since it is not produced in the body. The recommendation is for 1.6 and 1.1 grams per day for men and women and one ounce of walnuts is all that is needed to meet these needs.

California’s Loma Linda University in 1993 was the first to discover the heart healthy benefits of walnuts. They found that consuming walnuts in a controlled diet reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol and overall heart disease risk more than the Step One Diet recommended by the American Heart Association. Several studies since that time have confirmed similar findings. Research has also shown that foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce blood pressure, arterial inflammation, and the stickiness of platelets. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found to be helpful as a mood supporter for people with anxiety and depression. According to Universities of Minnesota and Oslo, walnuts are cited as the largest single source of antioxidants, next to rose hips.

Ok, so we can see how they are good for us but what about all of those calories and fat? Will they make us gain weight? The answer is no. Although walnuts do have a lot of fat it is a good source of fat that is protective for the heart. As for weight gain, they do pack some calories but researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health found three times as many people trying to lose weight were able to stick to a plan that contained nuts, and peanut butter versus the traditional low fat diet. As long as you watch your portion sizes and overall calories, a handful of nuts each day may actually promote weight loss. The fat, protein, and fiber in nuts help you to feel full longer so you eat less during the day.

You don’t have to break out the cookbooks to add walnuts to your diet, just eat them straight from the bag. You can add them to cereal, yogurt, and salads or just snack on them solo. If you want to get really creative you can find recipes that include walnuts as well. To keep your walnuts fresh, store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months or for a year in your freezer.

Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She specializes in weight management and cardiovascular nutrition and offers online programs to help people reach their weight loss and health goals. For more information visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.

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