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A Nutty Solution to a Serious Problem
Juglans
microcarpa Berl.
- W.L. Wagner @ USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database … Hug
trees for the walnuts and sweet apples (‘TreehHuggers’
by Todd-Michael
St. Pierre1) It is not as nutty as it sounds, eating a handful of walnuts a day may
seem a paltry attitude and trifling contribution towards prevention of the
rising number of deaths caused by diseases of the heart and circulatory system,
i.e. cardiovascular disease (CVD), which accounted for approximately 238,000
deaths in the UK in 2002. It is a far higher cause of death than cancer and more
than one in three people or 39% die of CVD in the form of coronary heart disease
(CHD) and stroke.2 Ladies take note - women are catching up with men as victims of CHD, when
more than one in six women and more than one in five men die from the disease.3 Christmas is coming, so for those who do not ordinarily eat nuts on a
regular basis and do not suffer from nut-allergy now is the time to start
remedying that omission in your diet. History
in a nutshell Our Walnuts (Juglans regia),
“Nuts of Jupiter”, according to the ancient Romans were a food of the gods.
They are acknowledged to be the oldest known tree food common to the eastern and
western hemispheres, which growth distribution suggests that early trees grew
naturally upon the entire world landmass before the continents split apart.4
Walnuts have a wealth of legends, myths, folklore, historical events,
traditions and stories to their credit, however a ‘reality check’ shows that
they have been part of our diet since c.7000 B.C. Archaeologists have also
successfully dated petrified walnut shells using carbon dating back as far as
the Neolithic period c.8000 B.C.5 Ancient Romans believed the walnut
tree originated in Persia. Early cultivation extended from south-eastern Europe
to Asia Minor to the Himalayas.6 Most walnuts today are sold ‘dry’, but prompted by genetic memory
whatever, I know come late autumn I avidly search for French fresh ‘wet’
walnuts and eat them for so long as the season lasts. I have amusing memories
from the early 1960s of an eccentric otherwise successful vegetarian inventor
friend who rated the walnut’s nutritional value so highly that he spent hours
mechanically squeezing ‘wet’ walnuts to extract their milk with a view to
making authentic ‘walnut cheese’! For those who are not fond of eating nuts, walnut oil is an excellent
introduction to the ‘walnut’ flavour. Generally processed in the Perigord
and Burgundy regions of France, it is both rich and expensive. High in
polyunsaturates, the delicate, light-coloured, unrefined, ‘nutty’ specialty
oil is perfect for salad dressings and to drizzle and toss into pasta – better
still when combined with chopped walnuts. Use of cold pressed walnut oil is not
a contemporary custom; the ancient Greeks were using walnut oil back in 400
B.C., a century before the Romans. With such a strong Franco-european connection, it is not surprising that
English walnuts (Juglans regia) were
first brought to California, USA, from Spain c.1770 by Franciscan priests. The
first commercial planting of the English walnut by Joseph Sexton, an orchardist
and nurseryman in Santa Barbara County began in 1867.7 Seventy years
later, the centre of California walnut production moved northwards, which was a
remarkable horticultural migration.8 Walnut orchard crops are now Big business in California, which produces
98% of the total U.S. crop and accounts for two-thirds of the world’s trade in
walnuts.9 The Californian Black Walnut (Juglans californica) is not so well-known or favoured in Europe as
in the USA, though it’s culinary use is appreciated the other side of the
Atlantic. When we have known the value of walnuts as a food for so long, why all
the fuss now? Walnut’s Medicinal & Nutritional Values You could put sudden news-worthiness down to the Prime Minister who was
recently treated for arrhythmia, which the fatty acid contained in walnuts alpha-linolenic
acid (ALA) helps prevent, as walnuts are an excellent natural source of ALA.
However, not to put a ‘spin’ on things, recently researchers at Harvard
University Medical School found ALA has similar benefits to the fatty acids
found in fish such as tuna and salmon.10 As we know, because tuna is at the top of the fishy food chain and
therefore contains more mercury than those fish species lower down; some are
wary of eating it. Also, amongst oily fish, salmon has had to endure some bad
press of late. So eating Walnuts for heart health is a viable option for more
than vegetarians and vegans, as well as those members of the public ultra-wary
of some of the food sources they may choose to consume. For a healthy diet,
walnuts are not a substitute for oily fish, but they do offer an alternative
route to help maintain heart health. T. M. Strathan, an Australian researcher puts the argument for eating
walnuts concisely: - “In
vegetarian populations it appears that nuts may be exerting the strongest
protective effect [for cardiovascular protection]. This was an unexpected
finding since it was anticipated that the absence of meat eating would be the
dominant factor. When other population groups were examined similar findings
became apparent demonstrating a strong cardio-protective effect from nut
ingestion approaching the level of effect seen with the use of lipid lowering
medication. It has been estimated that 1oz of daily nut ingestion may reduce
the risk of fatal CHD by 45% when substituted for saturated fat and by 30%
when substituted for carbohydrate intake. … it is possible to speculate that
the lipid profile of walnuts may confer the most advantage. Efforts to identify
possible mechanisms whereby nuts may be exerting their cardio-protection have
led to feeding trials with a wide variety of nuts. These have consistently shown
that regular nut consumption can result in a 10% reduction in LDL-C within a few
weeks. … Although nuts contain approximately 80% fat the nut feeding trials
have not shown any associated weight gain in those ingesting nuts suggesting
the addition of nuts in the diet may have a satiating effect. It is concluded
that the daily ingestion of a small quantity of nuts may be one of the most
acceptable lifestyle interventions for the prevention of coronary heart disease.”11 Walnuts are so rich in ALA that a daily amount of just half an ounce
(15g) supplies 1.5g of the fatty acid will protect against heart disease - part
of a 16-year study of more than 76,000 women reported to a meeting of the
American Heart Association. Walnuts are also a good dietary source of Omega-3 fatty acids shown to
significantly reduce the risk for sudden death caused by cardiac arrhythmias and
all-cause mortality in patients with known coronary heart disease.12
In May 2004, Irish researchers showed that
Walnut oil also contains other potentially cardio-protective constituents
including monounsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols, tocopherols and squalene.13 We do not have the wisdom of the ancients. To explain, in 1999, an
American researcher puts it on the line: “Human
beings evolved consuming a diet that contained about equal amounts of n-3 and
n-6 essential fatty acids. Over the past 100-150 years there has been an
enormous increase in the consumption of n-6 fatty acids due to the increased
intake of vegetable oils from corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds,
cottonseed, and soybeans. Today, in Western diets, the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty
acids ranges from approximately 20-30:1 instead of the traditional range of
1-2:1. Studies indicate that a high intake of n-6 fatty acids shifts the
physiologic state to one that is prothrombotic and proaggregatory, characterized
by increases in blood viscosity, vasospasm, and vasoconstriction and decreases
in bleeding time. n-3 Fatty acids, however, have anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic,
anti-arrhythmic, hypolipidemic, and vasodilatory properties. These
beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acids have been shown in the secondary
prevention of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and, in
some patients with renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis,
Crohn's disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”14 That’s one serious litany of benefits! Although when that explanatory review of what has happened to our diet
and our health as a result was carried out most of the studies concerned fish
oils, but it also concluded that alpha-linolenic acid, found in leafy vegetables
[eat your greens!], flaxseed, rapeseed [Non-GM], and walnuts may have beneficial
effects in health and in the control of chronic diseases.15 The nutritional value of walnuts has much more to offer besides fats,
protein and carbohydrate in that order. Walnuts are high in their mineral
content: selenium, manganese, zinc, iron, sodium and copper, with potassium,
phosphorus and calcium. Their vitamin content includes high amounts of Vitamins
A, E, B3 (niacin) and C, as well as folate and B5, B6 and B1 vitamins. It has
polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids and high amounts of
linoleic acid as well as the heart-healthy important alpha-linoenic acid, but no
cholesterol.16 When it comes to maintaining a healthy-heart, Walnuts are definitely to
be taken (or eaten) seriously. Walnut
Cuisine Food Medicine should be fun, and there’s a lighter side to the
wonderful walnut. For those of a savoury preference walnuts can be found in many
cheesy products, such as cheeses and biscuits. Apart from using Walnut oil as a
summer or winter salad dressing or on plain pasta, linguine with walnut cheese
sauce is worth a try or walnut cheese cream with noci.17 & 18
Children can be enticed with haute walnut, cheese and herb burgers or maybe
walnut cheese spread or apple cheese spread.19, 20 & 21 For an
adult cocktail party walnut cheese snaps and walnut cheese balls may improve
your image as an inventive hostess.22 & 23 Or how about walnut
and mint crusted salmon to get all the heart beneficial oils into a meal in one
go!24 There is a great assortment of walnut recipes for breads, biscuits and
American cookies, cakes, chutney, fudge, fritters, paté, pesto (Black walnut),
puddings, stuffing, spreads and dips to choose from.25 My personal
favourite, apart from gorging on delicious raw ‘wet’ walnuts in the
all-to-short season they are available, is pickled walnuts to go with Christmas
left-over turkey and ham. Although eating walnuts may be far from the only requisite for
maintaining a healthy heart, you may be very pleasantly surprised at just how
enjoyable healthy-heart eating can be. Oh! And if anybody says you’re a fat-head for eating walnuts, don’t
demur. Walnuts have always been thought of as ‘brain food’, partly because
of their wrinkled convoluted brain-like appearance; they look like the brain.
Your brain is more than 60% structural fat anyway, because the membranes of all
our cells, including brain cells, are primarily composed of fats. However,
omega-3 fats, which are especially fluid and flexible, facilitate the process of
anything getting into or out of the cell i.e. passing through the cell-membrane,
which maximizes the cell’s ability to take in nutrients and eliminate wastes.
So Walnut’s high concentration of omega-3 fats is truly a plus to brain
function. References: 1.
Todd-Michael St. Pierre writes poems, songs and plays for children. He
is a storyteller at schools throughout the southern United States. 'Treehuggers'
is part of a collection, 'A Treehouse On The Moon', to be published soon, along
with other works. St Pierre lives
in St. Francisville, Louisiana, with his two Siamese twin cats. http://www.pitara.com/talespin/poems/online.asp?story=103 2.
Statistics
sourced from the Office of National Statistics and the British Heart foundation. http://www.heartstats.org/datapage.asp?id=713&Print=1
3.
Ibid. 4.
http://www.cfaitc.org/resource-materials/commodity/walnut.html 5.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artwallnuts.html
6.
http://www.egreenway.com/meditation/walnut.htm
7.
http://www.ca-walnutdesigns.com/history.htm
8.
Ibid. 9.
Ibid. 10.
‘How
a handful of walnuts can help ward off heart trouble’
by Robin Yapp, Science Reporter, Daily Mail, 9th November 2004.
Harvard Uv. Medical School, research leader Professor Christine Albert. 11.
“Nuts
for cardiovascular protection.” TM
Strathan, Bundaberg Specialist Centre, Bundaberg, Australia. Asia
Pc J Clin Nutr. 2004;13(Suppl):S33. 12.
“Omega-3 fatty acids.”
Covington MB. Uv. Of Maryland School of Medicine, Centre for Integrative
Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Am Fam
Physician 2004 Jul 1;70(1):133-40. 13.
“Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of
walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut.” Maguire
LS, et al. Dept. of
Food and Nutritional Sciences, Uv. College Cork, Ireland. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2004 May;55(3):171-8. 14.
“Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease.” Simpoulos
AP. Centre for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, Washington DC, USA. Am
J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3Suppl):560S-569S. 15.
Ibid. 16.
USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 13, (November
1999). 17.
http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/recipes/Linguine_Walnut_Cheese_Sauce.htm 18.
http://www.mangiarebene.net/academy/antipasti/walnut_cream.html 19.
http://www.recipelink.com/mf/31/12371 20.
http://southernfood.about.com/od/cheesespreads/r/blbb635.htm
21.
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/quickneasy/dips/apple-walnut-spread.htm
22.
http://www.canoe.ca/LifewiseFoodGood00/1214_cheese_cp.html 23.
http://www.canoe.ca/LifewiseFooddrink0301/0102_cheeseball-cp.html 24.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artwallnuts.html 25.
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blfruit39.htm
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