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Benefits of eating walnuts daily

A new study suggests that eating a daily portion of walnuts may reduce your risk of getting diabetes and heart disease, manage blood pressure, and avoid weight gain.

According to the Daily Mail, the research, which was published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, revealed that people who consumed walnuts had lower blood pressure than people who did not.

The University of Minnesota researchers found that the only nuts that contain Omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid are walnuts (ALA). Earlier studies have connected the fatty acid to better heart health. More research, according to the researchers, is required to validate the results.

Previous studies have suggested that walnuts can decrease blood pressure and protect against diabetes and heart disease. These findings have not yet been supported by a comprehensive clinical trial, though.

The research team examined information from 3,341 US citizens, the average age of whom was 45. Participants had participated in the University of Alabama’s Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study between 1985 and 2015.

At the start of the study, they were asked about their diets; they were then re-interviewed at years seven, twenty, and twenty-five. The 340 participants who ate walnuts ingested an average of seven walnut kernels, or 0.6 ounces (19 grammes), per day.

They were invited back for a health checkup in year 20 where their BMI, exercise level, and blood pressure were all evaluated.

The researchers hypothesised that eating more walnuts resulted in better food quality and less weight gain.