Effects of Walnut Consumption on Heart Health

Effects of Walnut Consumption on Heart Health

A clinical trial was published in the Journal of Nutrition that consuming walnuts can have a positive effect on heart health by enriching the gut bacteria that help improve blood pressure and cholesterol .

First, in order to conduct the experiment under the same conditions, all subjects ate a typical Western diet (48% carbohydrates, 17% protein, 35% fat, 7% saturated fat) for 2 weeks .

Next, the subjects were randomly divided into three groups, and instead of saturated fat, they were given a diet of 'walnuts', 'vegetable oil containing omega-3 ALA', and 'vegetable oil containing omega-9 oleic acid ' for 6 weeks.

All participants were an average of 22.8 days between each intervening rest period that includes diet for 6 weeks was followed, heart health are the basis for blood pressure, cholesterol that inhabit the digestive microbial indices were measured based on the diet before and after.

As a result, it was confirmed that the intestinal bacteria of the test subjects who consumed 'walnuts' and 'vegetable oil containing omega-3 ALA' were changed in a beneficial way when compared with the general diet. The researchers said that the results suggest that there was a positive role of 'omega-3 ALA'. If one goes along but 'Walnut' diet subjects.

This study, like other scientific studies, needs to consider some research limitations. This is because secondary metabolites that can be used to evaluate the functional capacity of the gut bacteria were not evaluated, nor the conversion of ALA to EPA , which has the potential to affect the gut flora, was not evaluated.

Furthermore, fecal samples may not be representative of the entire intestinal environment. This is because diet, medication, lifestyle and other factors vary widely between individuals. For these reasons, large, long-term studies are needed to elucidate results across a broader population.

Meanwhile, the number of people complaining of cardiovascular disease due to lack of exercise and obesity is increasing. However, regular consumption of walnuts, which activates gut bacteria that have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, can help build a healthy body.