Previous studies have established the health benefits of walnuts, especially to your cardiovascular health. However, a recent study suggests that adding walnut to your diet may also have a psychological effect on you.
A new study published the Federation of American Societies for Experiment Biology journal has outlined the different effects of walnut to adults at risk with diabetes, overall health and body composition. Health benefits, especially to the heart, are linked to walnuts because of high levels of omega-3 fatty acid as revealed by previous studies. Surprisingly, the new study finds the same health benefits in the group who excluded walnuts from their diets.
As reported by Forbes, the study was conducted by a team of researchers led by David L. Katz, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. About 2 ounces of walnuts were added to the daily diet of 112 participants for six months. The participants were then given a break and for another six months, they deliberately removed walnuts from their diets. Half of the group underwent counselling about healthy nutrition, advising them to make up for the addition of walnuts by cutting calories. The other half did not receive any counselling.
After six months, the team measured the cholesterol, blood vessel function, blood sugar, blood pressure, body fat and BMI of the two groups. Results reveal that heart variables in the walnut group improved, regardless if the participants had nutrition counselling or not. The result definitely favours the walnut. However, the same positive effects were also observed in the group who excluded walnuts in their diet. The only difference is that the walnut group have developed a healthy diet during the course of the study.
The researchers, therefore, concluded that eating walnuts appear to encourage people to make healthier food choices than they had before. The ultimate result was diet quality between walnuts-added and walnuts-excluded says, Katz. The study only shows that walnuts offset less nutritious food when added to the diet and the effect has improved the overall diet of an individual.
