Consuming just a handful of walnuts daily protects against heart disease and reduces bad cholesterol in the elderly, according to a new study.
In the study, from the Walnuts and Healthy Ageing (WAHA), researchers found that eating walnuts reduced blood cholesterol levels without any negative effects on body weight among elderly adults.
WAHA conducted the two-year clinical test at Loma Linda University and the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona to examined the effect of walnuts on age-related health issues.
Barcelona’s Dr Emilio Ros said: “Given walnuts are a high-energy food, a prevailing concern has been that their long term consumption might be associated with weight gain,.
“The preliminary results of the WAHA study demonstrate that daily consumption of walnuts for one year by a sizable cohort of ageing free-living persons has no adverse effects on body weight.
“They also show that the well-known cholesterol-lowering effect of walnut diets works equally well in the elderly and is maintained in the long term.
“The preliminary results of the WAHA study demonstrate that daily consumption of walnuts for one year by a sizable cohort of ageing free-living persons has no adverse effects on body weight.
“They also show that the well-known cholesterol-lowering effect of walnut diets works equally well in the elderly and is maintained in the long term.
“Acquiring the good fats and other nutrients from walnuts while keeping adiposity at bay and reducing blood cholesterol levels are important to overall nutritional well-being of ageing adults.
“It’s encouraging to see that eating walnuts may benefit this particular population.”
Scientist trailed 707 healthy older men and women, where some added daily doses of walnuts to their diet and others did not.
After a year of following the participants, researchers found that the walnut-diet resulted in significantly lowered LDL (Bad) cholesterol levels compared to subjects who had the walnut-free diet.
Dr Ros added: “As we continue the WAHA study, we will assess how walnut consumption may affect, among other outcomes, cognitive decline and age-related macular degeneration, conditions that were major public health concerns.”
