Walnuts Protect Us From Metabolic Syndrome And Cognitive Decline

Victoria Aly Author: Victoria Aly Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022
Walnuts Protect Us From Metabolic Syndrome And Cognitive Decline

Regularly consumed walnuts can have a number of health benefits in many aspects ...

Did you know that you can fight the metabolic syndrome with nuts? In particular - with walnuts .


Walnuts are rich in polyunsaturated fats. When we introduce them in our menu, we replace harmful fat with that useful from a plant source. Polyunsaturated fatty acids have a beneficial effect on risk factors for cardiovascular problems, including elevated blood cholesterol levels. The benefits of walnuts are not only from the fatty acids they contain, but also their nutrients in general. 


Walnuts are rich in manganese and magnesium , both essential for bone health. 



A publication in the journal Nutrition Research and Practice (2019) mentions that people with metabolic syndrome who eat 45 g of walnuts every day for 16 weeks significantly improve the risk factors for metabolic disorders. The volunteers left the study with improved levels of HDL cholesterol, fasting blood sugar and blood pressure.


Another study found a drop in bad LDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. There are studies that show a decrease in body mass index and waist circumference . Obviously, although they are high in calories, walnuts also benefit from the desire to reduce weight.


What is the nutritional value of walnuts?
The caloric content of nuts comes from the high fat content . At 654 kcal per 100 g, 546 of them. The remaining calories come almost equally from carbohydrates and proteins. With 50 g of nuts, 13-14% of the daily fiber needs can be provided . 


Of all 65.2 g of fat, 47.2 g are polyunsaturated. The number of omega-3 fatty acids is obvious - 9070 mg, with alpha-linolenic acid predominating . They also contain omega-6 fatty acids, which are 38,092 mg.


Among the vitamins that are worth mentioning because of the ratio to daily needs are: vitamin B6, folate, thiamine.


Of the minerals, the content of manganese is the highest compared to daily needs - 171%. Walnuts are also a source of copper, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, potassium, selenium.


What else can walnuts be useful for? Of course, their shape betrays them - for the brain. A study presented in the Journal of Nutrition shows that eating walnuts can mitigate the adverse effects of aging on the brain, as long as they become part of a healthy diet at a young age, that is, we stop cognitive decline.


This beneficial effect is also due to the high content of phenols and flavonoids with antioxidant properties. 


In addition, consumption of walnuts can improve prostate biomarkers and vascular status in men at risk for prostate cancer. It is assumed that these are due to the presence of vitamin E in them. For this purpose, however, you should eat 75 g of walnuts a day. These studies are not as definite as the ones mentioned above, however.

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