Articles
Walnuts
Walnuts are a wonderful nut for many reasons. Not only do they taste great, and can be incorporated into a number of different dishes, but they have several great nutritional benefits.
Firstly, like many other nuts, walnuts are high in mono and polyunsaturated fats, the good fats. Walnuts have actually been shown to contain higher amounts of these good Omega-3-fatty acids than other nuts. In addition, they are high in protein, fibre, B vitamins, magnesium and antioxidants in the form of vitamin D.
Many scientific studies have shown that incorporating nuts into the daily diet, in particular walnuts, can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease by helping improve the elasticity of blood vessels and help prevent plaque formation. Walnuts have also been shown to aid in lowering LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein, which is a proven marker or predictor for heart disease.
Despite their multitude of nutritional goodness, eating walnuts is not a case of ‘more is better’. All nuts, including walnuts are high in fat, and therefore high in kilojoules (calories). Eating too many walnuts can eventually lead to weight gain, which itself is a co-factor in the development of heart disease. Moderation is key! When you start to incorporate walnuts into your diet, do so by using them to replace something else. Decrease your intake of something high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats or cheeses, and only have up to 20 walnut halves each day.
Walnuts add flavour and crunchiness to many different dishes. Here are some tasty walnut ideas.
Pizza - Try using a pita bread base and top with roasted pumpkin pieces, spinach, low fat fetta and crushed walnuts.
Porridge - add sliced banana and crumbled walnuts on top of porridge and drizzle with a small amount of honey.
Salads - add walnuts to any salad for some crunch
Muesli and cereals - add flavour and texture
Added to site on : Tuesday, 21 June 2011