Eating walnuts may reinforce favorable health effects such as improved diet quality and increased probability of physical activity.
Researchers found that participants who ate walnuts early in life showed a greater likelihood of being more physically active, having a higher quality diet, and experiencing a better heart disease risk profile as they aged into middle adulthood after reviewing 20 years of diet history and 30 years of physical and clinical measurements.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health funded the long-term and ongoing Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA), which intended to look at how risk factors for heart disease develop over time.
This study is one of the longest to demonstrate that including a few heart-healthy walnuts into the diet on a regular basis may serve as a springboard for the eventual adoption of other healthy lifestyle practices.
The results also support the idea that walnut consumption throughout adolescence and middle adulthood may reduce a number of heart disease risk factors.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health note in a recent study published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases that a possible explanation for the findings could be related to the special combination of nutrients found in walnuts and their impact on health outcomes.
Walnuts are the only tree nut that is an excellent source of the plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (2.5 grams/oz.), which research shows may play a role in heart health, brain health, and healthy aging. Additionally, just one serving of walnuts (1 oz.), or about a handful, contains a variety of other important nutrients to support overall health including 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and a good source of magnesium (45 milligrams). Walnuts also offer a variety of antioxidants, including polyphenols.
According to Professor of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Lead Researcher on CARDIA, Lyn M. Steffen, Ph.D., MPH, RD, “Walnut eaters seem to have a unique body phenotype that carries with it other positive impacts on health like better diet quality, especially when they start eating walnuts from young into middle adulthood – as risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes elevates.”
