How walnut strengthens our health

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Walnut is a real source of useful substances. People have long used its nutritional and medicinal properties. Nut improves memory and lowers blood cholesterol. It has recently been found that it has a positive effect on digestion by modifying the intestinal microbiome.

Nutritionists rightly call walnut a superfood. Its kernels are rich in various minerals, vitamins and omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, very beneficial for blood vessels, heart and brain. A quarter cup of walnut kernels provides our need for omega-3 during the day.

For the first time, this nut was brought from Greece. The fruits of the “tree of life” were valued so highly by our ancestors that ordinary inhabitants of Ancient Babylon were forbidden to eat them. Herodotus claimed that walnuts are endowed with special vitality. Avicenna considered them an effective medicine, recommending them for restorative nutrition and treatment of tuberculosis. A study conducted at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine found that adding walnuts to the diet changed the composition of the gut bacterial community. This result may lead to the emergence of new methods of using the positive properties of the nut for treatment and health promotion. Professor Lauri Byerley's research group worked with laboratory rodents. Scientists supplemented the diet of a group of animals with nuts, and then compared the bacterial composition of the mouse intestines with the data of a control group in which the rodents did not receive nuts.

It turned out that the “nut diet” led to differences between the two groups in the number of microorganisms and the quality of the microbiome. The number of bacteria and their composition changed, the proportion of beneficial lactobacilli increased significantly.

Thus, the researchers found that walnuts act as prebiotics, which include dietary products, selectively and purposefully stimulating the activity and number of beneficial organism of bacteria. As Dr. Byerly noted:

“We found that walnuts in the diet increase the diversity of bacteria in the gut. Others, unrelated to our study, associate low numbers of bacteria with obesity and other diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Walnuts increased the number of microorganisms, such as lactobacilli… Presumably, walnuts can act as a prebiotic.”

The positive effect of walnuts on the state of the human body is not denied by experts. The introduction into the diet affects the composition of the blood and the condition of the vessel walls, the amount of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances. It is possible that many of the beneficial properties of walnuts are caused by its effect on the intestinal microflora.

Scientists call gut health a new research area and link bacterial diversity to good health and well-being. According to them, changes in the intestinal microbiome by adding walnuts to the diet is a new physiological mechanism for improving health, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and suppressing the development of tumors.