Nuts About Good Health!

[Guest guest]

Nuts About Good Health

 

 

 

by Nick Rana, CN, Technical Services Manager

 

As I walk down the aisles of my neighborhood grocery store I can't escape the

variety of food products with the words " FAT FREE " or " LOW FAT " splashed across

the front of the package. In a country where obese individuals and overweight

adults number almost 97 million, and the diseases related to their condition

still appear to be out of control, it seems that the many low-or no-fat food

choices offered us are not helping much.

 

I grew up in a European family where your only fat free choices were water or

wine. We didn't have the benefit of accessing numerous studies published in

scientific journals that indicate the health promoting effects of essential fats

versus the damage caused by too many saturated fats. Yet we followed a diet that

included high amounts of the good fats. One source of the beneficial fats that

we enjoyed was nuts. I distinctly remember that every meal we shared at family

get togethers included walnuts; the favorite of all the different types of nuts

my family consumed. Now I offer walnuts to my growing family as a good source of

protein and beneficial fats, such as essential polyunsaturated and

monounsaturated fatty acids.

 

Walnuts have been part of our ancient ancestor's diet as far back as the Iron

Age. Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar who lived between A.D. 23 and 79, is

thought to have written in his Historia Naturalis that walnuts were being

imported into Italy from Persia at that time.

 

There are several different varieties of walnuts all belonging to the

Juglandaceae family. The most common species is Juglans regia historically known

as the Persian walnut. It was transported throughout the world by British

merchant marines, thus explaining why it's called the English walnut today. The

nut that grew in the Americas and was eaten by the native peoples is Juglans

nigra, or the Black walnut. The English walnut variety was brought to California

via Mexico by Franciscan fathers many years ago, and the Central Valley of

California is now the major producer of walnuts consumed by Americans today.

 

English walnuts have a healthy nutrient profile. They contain approximately 15%

protein, 65% fat, 14% carbohydrate and 6% fiber. The fat content of this

marvelous nut may be frightening to a " fat phobic " calorie counter, however you

must look at the fatty acid profile a little closer to appreciate it's value.

 

Total saturated fat is only 6%. Omega 6 content is 38%, Omega 9 monounsaturated

is 9% and the Omega 3 is a whopping 9%!

 

The poly and monounsaturated to saturated fat ratio of the walnut, coupled with

its high protein-low carbohydrate profile, qualifies it as a superior food.

 

Many of you may notice that when you cracked open a walnut shell, the nut inside

resembles the human brain, with a left and right side containing many folds. Our

ancestors considered this shape to be a indication from God of the beneficial

effects of the food, otherwise known as The Doctrine of Signatures.

 

New research seems to support this doctrine. A study published in the April 2000

issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that walnuts, added to the

traditional Mediterranean diet, lowered cholesterol levels by 11 percent.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993; 328:603 -7

quoted that scientists at Loma Linda University in California discovered that

healthy young men could reduce their cholesterol by 12 percent by adding walnuts

to their diets.

 

I was recently surfing through some of my favorite News Wires and came across a

blurb quoting a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

July 2001, stating that adding walnuts to the diet can normalize cholesterol

without promoting weight gain.

 

Today, scientific research continues to affirm what ancient and traditional

knowledge has taken for granted, that nuts offer big nutrition in small shells!

 

http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail & item_id=1313

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The complete " Whole Body " Health line consists of the " AIM GARDEN TRIO "

Ask About Health Professional Support Series: AIM Barleygreen

 

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html

 

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

We have made every effort to ensure that the information included in these pages

is accurate. However, we make no guarantees nor can we assume any responsibility

for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or

process discussed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70/year