Adding a handful of walnuts to your diet could be the inexpensive boost your brain needs, according to a nutrition expert. Dr Emma Patel has highlighted walnuts as the “perfect snack” for maintaining cerebral function due to their rich nutrient contents.
Speaking to CardPlayer Lifestyle, Dr Patel said: “Walnuts are a perfect snack to maintain brain performance. Their unique combination of nutrients promotes healthy neural connections, supporting critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.”
It’s not just brain health; walnuts have been linked to lowering cholesterol levels and bolstering your immune system, thanks to their Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and antioxidants. But Dr Patel isn’t alone in her praise for this brainy nut.
Findings from California Walnuts last year, based on the CARDIA study, pointed out their potential for increasing lifespan by contributing to a better heart disease profile.
Leading the CARDIA research, Lyn Steffen remarked on the results: “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.”, reports Surrey Live.
Lyn highlighted that walnuts aren’t the only nut to provide health perks, as including a variety in your meal plan is beneficial for heart health, as noted by the Daily Express. She said: “Nut consumers showed an advantage in relation to diet quality, but walnut consumers appear to have a better heart disease risk factor profile than the other groups, even after accounting for overall diet quality.”
Lyn added that the results suggest “walnuts may act as a bridge or ‘carrier food’ for helping people form healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits throughout life”.
This sentiment is echoed by ITV’s Dr Amir Khan, who even took to TikTok to encourage eating walnuts. He remarked: “Walnuts also have more Omega-3 fats that any other nut. The Omega-3 in walnuts is called alpha-linolinic acid, and it is something your body needs but can’t make itself, so you have to get it from your diet.”
Dr Khan continued, outlining the benefits of this Omega-3: “It can help keep your heart healthy, and reduce blood pressure, and is essential for human growth and development. Eating walnuts not only nourishes you, but also nourishes the beneficial bacteria that live inside your gut.
“This promotes the health of your gut, and may also help reduce disease risk. Walnuts contain nutrients that may help protect your brain from damaging inflammation and support good brain function as you age. Regularly eating walnuts has been consistently shown to decrease harmful cholesterol. So go on, add some walnuts to your diet today.”