When people eat nuts, they feel guilty that they are getting more fat than satisfaction from the eating. However, eating nuts can help you reduce your risk of many types of diseases, including heart disease.

Nuts are a plant-based food and while nuts are rich in fats, they are healthy fats that the body needs. Instead of eating processed foods or fast foods, swap them out for a serving or two of nuts each day.

A look at the Walnut

Now let’s look at the walnut in particular. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which you may have heard about in relation to coldwater fish. If you are not a fish eater or are only eating a couple of servings a week, you can supplement that by having a serving of walnuts each day.

Walnuts also contain protein. If you want to reduce your intake of animal source protein, increase your intake of nuts. On the good side, walnuts also have a good ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. You want to reduce your intake of omega-6s which come from fatty meats and fried food sources.

Walnuts have been shown to improve bone health and help reduce neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. The brain needs good fats to help facilitate the movement of certain substances into the cells.

Antioxidants are substances that fight free radical damage in the body. Walnuts are full of antioxidants. One in particular that they contain is melatonin. It helps us to get to sleep and stay asleep at night. Restful sleep is conducive to the body’s reparation process. Walnuts also help to boost immunity and offer anti-inflammatory benefits.

Walnuts can be sprinkled in yogurt, cereal or eaten as is. At lunch they work well on salads. You can also use walnut oil to create a tasty salad dressing.  Also, look on the Internet for a recipe for French nut cake, which does not contain flour, but does contain a great deal of walnuts.