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Walnuts ‘combat unhealthy fats’
“Eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries, research suggests.
It is thought that the nuts are rich in compounds that reduce hardening of the arteries, and keep them flexible.
A team from Barcelona’s Hospital Clinico recommend eating around eight walnuts a day.
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The study, which appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also showed walnuts had more health benefits than olive oil. The protective fat from walnuts actually undoes some of the detrimental effects of a high-saturated-fat diet
Professor Robert Vogel
The researchers recruited 24 adults, half with normal cholesterol levels, and half with levels that were moderately high to the research, which was partly funded by the California Walnut Commission.
Each was given two high-fat salami and cheese meals, eaten one week apart.
For one meal, the researchers added five teaspoons of olive oil. For the other, they added eight shelled walnuts.
Tests showed that both the olive oil and the walnuts helped to reduce the sudden onset of harmful inflammation and oxidation in arteries that follows a meal high in saturated fat.
Over time, this is thought to cause the arteries to start to harden – and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
However, unlike olive oil, adding walnuts also helped preserve the elasticity and flexibility of the arteries, regardless of cholesterol level.
Arteries that are elastic can expand when needed to increase blood flow.
Lead researcher Dr Emilio Ros said eating high fat meals disrupted production of nitric oxide by the inner lining of the arteries, a chemical needed to keep blood vessels flexible.”
Read more on the BBC Health News Site
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