Would you believe that 5 walnuts every day, even 3–4 times a week, could change the health of your heart and arteries?
If you don’t believe it, then you haven’t heard the results of much research in recent years! (1)
Few people know that eating 5 walnuts every day could change the heart and body function just four hours later.
Some people may wonder if nuts—especially walnuts—can protect the heart and arteries, but you may also wonder how they affect our bodies just a few hours after eating them.
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Walnuts are an essential ally in protecting our heart and brain. (2)
You may be surprised to learn that their beneficial and therapeutic effect starts just four hours after consuming them!
A recent study revealed that eating 5–6 walnuts every day is an excellent way to protect against heart disease and stroke. (3)
Scientists noticed that after a period of 4–5 hours, there was a vast improvement in cholesterol levels and increased flexibility of blood vessels. (4)
In today’s article, you will discover what exactly happens to the body and heart, in particular, just four hours after eating 5 walnuts every day. Also, what happens if we drink walnut oil or eat walnuts 4–5 days a week?
The crucial benefits of 5 walnuts every day
Walnuts are known as a superfood because of their high content of healthy fats. These fats offer numerous benefits to our health. (5)
All nuts, from almonds to hazelnuts and pistachios, are essential for our general health, but walnuts should be part of your weekly diet.
Walnuts have been shown to lower cholesterol as effectively, if not better, than the equally powerful garlic. (6)
At the same time, they directly protect and prevent heart disease and stroke. (7)
When we consume walnuts a few days a week, we will gain the necessary protection for our heart, arteries, and brain.
5 walnuts every day or walnut oil
One recent study was the first to report that walnut oil, in particular, provides the most benefits to our health.
By consuming 1-3 tbsp. of walnut oil, we can significantly improve the condition of our blood vessels in just four hours.
Walnut oil, in particular, is excellent for endothelial cell integrity. These cells line our blood vessels and play an integral role in their flexibility. (8)
However, this study is not the first documented research on walnuts as a superfood. Many other studies have found this superfood highly beneficial to our body, brain, and heart. (9)
The ancient Romans even believed that walnuts strengthened the desire for sex, so they threw them at newlyweds, just as we throw rice now.
The ancient Britons used walnuts to treat mental ailments, comparing the shape of their shell and crumb to that of the brain.
The essential enzymes and vitamins that walnuts offer us
Walnuts also help produce two vital enzymes, among our bodies’ most potent digestive enzymes. (10)
Our bodies will overproduce these beneficial enzymes for those who consume only five walnuts daily or 3–4 times a week, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and help purify our blood and lymphatic system.
In the study I mentioned above, researchers found that if we eat a few walnuts daily or drink 1–3 teaspoons of walnut oil, the condition of our blood vessels improves after only 4 hours, no matter how bad their condition.
Walnuts also contain a high amount of antioxidants. (11)
Antioxidants are essential to fight free radicals, which lead to heart disease and cell degeneration. (12)
By removing toxic free radicals, the health of the heart and our body, in general, improves significantly.
The help of omega-3 fatty acids that walnuts contain
Walnuts also contain essential omega-3 fatty acids. (13)
These fats can significantly reduce the risk of death from coronary heart disease and stroke or heart attack.
At the same time, they help prevent arrhythmia and improve the condition of the arteries.
Omega-3s can also boost our cardiovascular health because they are critical in producing certain hormones. These hormones regulate inflammation, blood clotting, and the contraction or relaxation of artery walls.
When these indicators decrease, the plaque in the heart’s arteries also decreases.
In addition, the omega-3 fats available in just five walnuts can protect the brain from age-related degeneration. (14)
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Because of the omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts, regular consumption has been associated with reduced dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They were also related to natural coping with depression and anxiety. (15)
The contribution of stress to heart health and the role of walnuts
We all know that stress, in particular, plays one of the most critical roles in heart health.
However, daily consumption of walnuts can do wonders in regulating stress levels. This is particularly true if you also suffer physically from stress or are prone to react strongly to stressful situations.
Walnuts calm the body’s stress response. Thus, they help to overcome the physical side effects of this unpleasant mental state more easily. (16)
In addition, another crucial research was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This research showed that men who regularly consume walnuts have lower levels of bad cholesterol than those who do not eat them. (17)
This discovery is a finding that goes hand in hand with the other benefits of walnuts for the heart and arteries.
Walnuts also contain arginine, an essential amino acid that is synthesized in our body through the digestion of proteins. Arginine participates in various metabolic processes in our body. (18)
Such metabolic processes are the removal of ammonia from the body, cell division, and protein synthesis. This process is also one of its most important actions: protecting the heart and vessels from possible thrombosis.
5 walnuts daily and their contribution to cardiovascular diseases
Over the past two decades, many studies have been conducted on the benefits of eating walnuts in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It has been shown that in addition to lowering cholesterol, they also reduce blood pressure.
These are two important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
At the same time, walnuts improve endothelial function and reduce oxidative stress and specific markers of inflammation. (19)
The effect of walnuts and their oil has multiple objectives to prevent or remove some cardiovascular diseases, even four hours after consuming them.
For this reason, they have the best recommendations for inclusion in a daily heart-healthy diet.
The anti-inflammatory benefits of walnuts
In addition, the alpha-linoleic acid they contain is an anti-inflammatory agent in our bodies. (20)
It has even been shown to help reduce plaque build-up in the coronary arteries.
So are you at high risk for coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease, or do you already have such health problems?
Then it is crucial to add 5 walnuts to your diet every day!
In conclusion, the consumption of 5 walnuts, or walnut oil, every day is vital for the good functioning of our heart and arteries. At the same time, it can protect against unpleasant conditions of cardiovascular problems.
Did you know about the benefits that 5 walnuts offer to the heart?
Did you know that just 5 walnuts daily can change the negative markers for heart and artery problems, even after just four hours?
As always, please leave your comments below!
I wish that you will always be well and have a wonderful day! 🙂