2022/09/22
10:00 am
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Diet plays an important role in maintaining overall health as well as its impact on an individual’s life expectancy, based on many different studies.
Longevity diets usually focus on foods rich in antioxidants to protect the body from oxidative damage. For healthy aging, one must also maintain a normal BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure and triglycerides. The results of a new study suggest that walnuts may help achieve all of the above.
According to the study, published in Nutrition, Metabolism, & Cardiovascular Diseases, the unique blend in walnuts could explain their broad-based health benefits, says Lynn M. Stephen, professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and lead investigator in the Coronary Risk Development Study. In Young People (CARDIA), a long-term, ongoing study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, aims to examine the development of heart disease risk factors over time.
The researchers noted major differences in the bodies of people who regularly ate walnuts.
Dr Stephen noted: “Nut eaters appear to have a unique body phenotype that carries with it other positive health effects such as better diet quality, especially when they start eating nuts from childhood to mid-adulthood.” Heart, obesity and diabetes tend to escalate in middle age.
The results came from an analysis of data from more than 3,023 healthy adults between the ages of 19 and 30.
All participants provided details of their diets, which they self-reported at least three times throughout the study period, at onset, after seven years, and after 20 years.
Participants were classified as either ‘nut consumers’, ‘other nut consumers’ or ‘not nut consumers’ to assess the relationship with other risk factors.
According to the results, the nut eaters had higher physical activity scores than the other nut consumers or those who didn’t include nuts in their diets.
According to the results of the study, regular consumption of walnuts was associated with: – lower body mass index
– Less waist circumference
Low blood pressure
Low levels of triglycerides in the blood
It also appeared that people who ate walnuts regularly had less weight gain during the study period and a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose compared to their counterparts.
“Following these 30 years of white and black women and men provides an unparalleled window into how lifestyle decisions are made in young free-living environments that can impact health in midlife,” Stephen emphasized.
“Sudden health shifts in the general dietary pattern of nut consumers suggest that it may act as a food bridge or carrier to help people form healthy eating and lifestyle habits throughout their lives.”
This study is one of the longest-running studies to suggest that eating walnuts early in life could be linked to good heart health, but it’s not the first.
These nuts provide a wealth of good fats, such as polyunsaturated fats and omega fatty acids, which may help lower bad cholesterol levels.
This is important because cholesterol contributes to plaque formation within the arteries, but walnuts can counteract these effects.
By reducing inflammation, you may prevent heart disease, reduce the risk of blood clots and subsequent health attacks.
Several studies have confirmed that five servings of walnuts per week can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 50%.
Walnuts may also be a contributor to cancer prevention due to their strong antioxidant activity, but more research is needed to confirm this.