The effect of walnuts and the best dose to eat

What kind of fruit are walnuts?

Walnut is a fruit that belongs to a species of tree whose scientific name is Juglans regia. This is a plant that is native to West Asia stretching to China. Later, they were brought to widely planted in Europe and used by the whole world to this day.

Characteristics of walnuts

Walnut tree (Juglans regia) is a woody, perennial tree with an average height of 10-15m. When it is time to bloom, the flowers will grow in small bunches and have a slightly odd smell. When the flower fades, the fruit will be formed, the walnut is round, about 3-4cm in diameter, containing the seed inside.

When the fruit is ripe, the shell will automatically crack and split, revealing the walnuts lying deep inside. This seed has a milky brown outer shell, high hardness. When the hard outer shell is removed, there will be soft edible seeds inside. The seeds, when eaten raw, will have a bitter, slightly acrid taste and are difficult to eat. And when the seeds are cooked, they will have a fleshy, greasy taste.

Nutritional composition of walnuts

Despite its ugly appearance, it is concave and has little appetite. However, walnut is a very nutritious fruit, good for human health. Every 100g of walnuts will contain the following nutrients:

– Energy: 655 kcal

– Lipids: 65.2g

– Carbohydrates: 13.7g

– Protein: 15.3g

– Water: 4g

– Sugar: 0.7g

– Fiber: 1.9g

Although the fat content (Lipid) is up to 65g per 100g of walnuts, these fats are all saturated fats, which are very good for human health. However, the calories are a bit high, accounting for more than ⅓ of the energy needs that the body needs each day. Therefore, you need to use this fruit in moderation and properly.

What are the benefits of walnuts?

Here are the most amazing effects that this fruit can bring to human health, which has been proven by science:

1. Rich in Antioxidants

Walnuts contain more antioxidants than any other nut you know. That’s thanks to the incredibly high levels of vitamin E, melatonin, and polyphenols. As a result, it helps the body fight oxidation in the cells, making the body healthier.

2. Provide abundant Omega 3

Walnuts are extremely high in Omega 3, up to 2.5g per 28g serving. This omega 3 is derived from plants, so it is much better than animal sources. A study has shown that, every day you consume 1g of Omega 3 into the body will reduce the risk of stroke or death from cardiovascular disease by 10%.

3. Pain relief, anti-inflammatory

The polyphenol-based active ingredients in walnuts will help fight inflammation and reduce pain effectively. In particular, a small group in polyphenols called ellagitannins, when digested, will be converted by intestinal beneficial bacteria into urolithin to help protect cells from oxidation and perfect anti-inflammatory.

4. Helps the digestive system healthy

A study has shown that people who use walnuts regularly will help increase the amount of beneficial bacteria for the intestinal system. In particular, it helps the body produce butyrate, a type of fat that nourishes the intestinal tract, protecting the healthy digestive system.

5. Cancer prevention

As mentioned above, a group of polyphenols called ellagitannins are converted to urolithin when digested. Urolithin has extremely high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so it will help protect the body from being attacked by free radicals. This will significantly reduce the risk of cancer.

6. Supports weight control

Despite its high calorie content, only 80% of these calories are absorbed by the body. From there, it will help the body feel full for a long time, reduce cravings, and significantly support the process of weight control.

7. Control your diabetes

Because walnuts are high in calories but extremely low in sugar, along with saturated fats that are beneficial to the body. As a result, the health of diabetics is stable, blood sugar control is not too high.

8. Helps regulate blood pressure

Walnuts contain catechin, a flavonoid that can help protect heart health and regulate blood pressure. At the same time, high levels of melatonin also help reduce the risk of dangerous heart diseases.

9. Support to strengthen the brain

The rich content of vitamin E and polyphenols in walnuts will help reduce oxidative damage to the human brain. As a result, you will not get Alzheimer’s disease as well as related memory impairment diseases.

10. Improves Reproductive Health in Men

Because of the extremely high content of antioxidants in walnuts, it helps protect men’s sperm by reducing oxidative damage. As a result, sperm will live longer, be healthier, not deformed, … Reproductive health of men is therefore guaranteed.

11. Reduce excess fat in the blood

Thanks to the extremely high content of beneficial saturated fats, walnuts have the ability to increase good HDL cholesterol for the body, eliminating bad LDL cholesterol out. Thereby helping users to have a healthy cardiovascular system, prevent the risk of atherosclerosis, high blood fat, …

What are walnuts incompatible with?

Although beneficial to human health, few people know that walnuts cannot be eaten with some of the following foods:

1. Alcohol

Walnuts have many nutrients that are good for health, but this fruit is hot, when combined with alcohol, it will cause serious damage to the digestive system.

2. Concentrated tea

Walnuts should not be eaten with strong tea. That’s because green tea is rich in tannic acid, which, when combined with the iron present in this fruit, will form a precipitate that is insoluble after being digested. That makes us feel full, indigestion, affecting the digestive system.

3. Yang Di Huang

Duong Di Hoang is a precious herb in nature with many uses for health. However, when combined with walnuts, it will create a toxin that is capable of affecting the body.

How many walnuts should you eat a day?

The amount of walnuts you need to eat each day will vary depending on the user. You can refer to the following:

1. For pregnant women

Pregnant women are subjects that need a lot of nutrients to raise a healthy baby. Therefore, pregnant women need to eat about 6-8 walnuts per day is the best.

2. For children

Children are objects of development both mentally and physically. Walnuts are rich in Omega 3 which is good for the brain of children. So you should give your child at least 4-6 fruits per day.

3. For the elderly

The elderly are susceptible to diseases that are harmful to health such as cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Therefore, the amount of walnuts that the elderly and elderly people should eat should only be from 1- 1. 3 fruits per day only.

How to eat walnuts?

To eat walnuts properly, you should only take the inner kernel, remove the outer shell. Due to the hard shell, you need to use the necessary tools to break it and get the seeds out.

– You should keep the silk shell and thin shell of the walnut, not throw it away. Because these layers contain a lot of nutrients needed by the body.

– The large amount of active antioxidants is concentrated mainly in the brown shell of walnuts. When you eat it, you will feel a little bitter but it is very good for health.

– During the process of eating walnuts, you should chew carefully, eat slowly to feel the fleshy, greasy and sweet taste of the nuts, as well as help the body absorb easier.