"Dumb and Dumber To," the new Jim Carey, Jeff Daniels buddy movie, may spread super-nuttiness across the land. But this holiday season, it’s walnuts you’ll want to use to amp up your health and happiness.
We've long extolled the power of eating an ounce of walnuts (equal to 14 walnut halves) daily to get your dose of alpha-linolenic acid, an important omega-3 fatty acid.
That good-for-you fat eases cardiovascular inflammation, promotes supple veins and arteries (for blood pressure control) and helps control your appetite.
Try munching six walnut halves 30 minutes before a holiday meal. You'll feel full sooner and eat less when you sit down at the big table.
Research now reveals that it isn't just the omega-3 in walnuts that delivers a health boost. A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food shows that the non-fatty nutrients in walnuts (in combination with the omega-3) helps with insulin and blood sugar regulation and promote healthy HDL cholesterol levels.
It also triggers a series of cancer-blocking changes in body chemistry.
Seems there’s a whole lot that eating whole walnuts can do:
1. Reduce levels of a hormone associated with prostate and breast cancer
2. Increase two substances — adiponectin and the tumor suppressor PSP94 — that help fight cancer and
3. Reduce levels of inflammatory COX-2
So go nuts this holiday season! When you substitute walnuts (and their calories) for refined carbs and added sugars and syrups, you'll reap the health benefits that eating an ounce a day can bring.
Even better: Those benefits are equivalent to walking 6,000 more steps daily.
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