April 16, 2024
Do you ever eat walnuts? No? You should really do that more often! These tasty nuts are not only very tasty, they also bring a lot of benefits…
You are doing your body a favor with a handful of walnuts a day. Nuts lower you LDL cholesterol, which helps keep your blood vessels healthy. Furthermore, nuts provide many beneficial nutrients such as fiber, protein, iron, vitamin E, vitamin B1 and unsaturated fat.
1. They boost your immune system
Walnuts are full of important nutrients, such as protein, fiber and magnesium, all of which help boost your immune system and your overall health. Walnuts would also be a good source of vitamin B6 and contain a lot of copper, both of which ensure that your immune system can function properly.
2. They contain healthy fats
Walnuts are unique within the nut family because they contain almost exclusively healthy, unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fats. In fact, walnuts are the only nuts that have that much omega-3 contain fats (ALA). These types of fats are associated with health benefits for your heart, brain and fighting inflammation. This type of fat cannot be produced by your body and must therefore be obtained from food such as walnuts.
3. They are full of antioxidants
Of all peanuts and nuts walnuts contain the highest number of polyphenols. These are antioxidant compounds that play a beneficial role in improving your health in several areas: heart health, cognitive health, inflammation and perhaps even certain types of cancer.
4. They are good for your intestines
It is extremely important to choose the right diet for it microbiome boost in your intestines. Research has shown that walnuts would be a good choice because they have prebiotic properties. This makes them good for your intestinal health and stimulates the growth of good bacteria.
5. They boost your brain
We already said it: walnuts are good for your brain. In fact, they even look a bit similar (especially in the skin)… Walnuts contain important nutrients that your brain needs to function. Research in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging even found that eating walnuts can help you perform better on brain function tests that test your memory, concentration and processing speed. Sounds good, right?
6. They help you feel full faster
Certain foods are ideal if you want to feel full faster. Research shows that walnuts are one of those foods is. A study from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health showed that increasing daily nut consumption by just half a serving (14 grams) resulted in weight loss and a reduced risk of obesity. Wow!
7. You can use them in so many ways
There are so many different ways to do it walnuts to include in your diet, which is a huge advantage if you want to start using a healthy product more often. You can combine walnuts with a variety of different ingredients, to which they can contribute various flavors (from sweet to savory) and textures (raw, baked or ground). So plenty of choice! And did you know that you can order a whole bag of fresh walnuts from Dutch soil online? We found them here. But you can also find them in organic stores.
Recipe: walnut salad
Ingredients:
- 150 grams of mixed green leaf lettuce (e.g. arugula, lamb's lettuce, mixed lettuce)
- 100 grams walnutslightly roasted and chopped
- 100 grams Cherry tomatoeshalved
- 50 grams feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 red onionthin sliced
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salty and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Start with it to wash of the mixed green leaf lettuce and let it drain well.
- Schedule lightly brown the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Then chop them coarsely.
- Mix the mixed green leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chopped walnuts, crumbled feta cheese and thinly sliced ​​red onion in a large salad bowl.
- Knock In a separate bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar and olive oil into a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and gently toss everything together until the dressing is evenly distributed.
- Serve the walnut salad directly as a side dish or add grilled chicken or fried mushrooms for a complete meal.
EDITOR'S TIP
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TEXT MANON DAELMANS
BEEDL GETTYIMAGES
SOURCE HEALTHLINE