A new study suggests that eating walnuts may cut the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease of overweight adults.
Dr. David Katz, lead author of the study and director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and his colleagues recruited 46 adults who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 25 with waist circumferences exceeding 40 inches for men and 35 for women. They were also non-smokers and candidates of diabetes and heart disease.
The participants were divided into two groups based on the diet: walnut diet and without walnut. Those who were chosen for the walnut diet consumed 56 grams of walnuts per day during the eight-week monitoring period. They have the discretion to eat it as a snack or include it in their meal.
After eight weeks, the researchers evaluated the participants’ health indicators for diabetes and heart disease. They measured the flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) of the arteries, serum lipid panel, glucose and insulin levels, blood pressure, and anthropometric measures. They then compared it to the measurements they got before the walnut diet.
"FMD improved significantly from baseline when subjects consumed a walnut-enriched diet as compared with the control diet. Beneficial trends in systolic blood pressure reduction were seen, and maintenance of the baseline anthropometric values was also observed. Other measures were unaltered," the authors wrote in the report.
The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
There were previous studies associating walnut eating to the reduction of risk to heart disease by 50 percent and diabetes by 25 percent. This new study helps further promote the benefits of including walnuts in the diet. A non-profit organization George Mateljan Foundation posted on its website that only five percent of the U.S adults consume walnuts regularly.
According to the California Walnut Commission, a group of walnut growers and handlers, walnuts are full of healthy nutrients such as the alpha-linoleic acid, omega-3, antioxidants, protein, fiber, magnesium, and phosphorous. California produces 90 percent of the supplies of walnuts in the U.S.
