Walnuts improve gut and heart health – naturopathy & naturopathic specialist portal

Improve bowel health with walnuts and reduce the risk of heart disease

Walnuts offer a lot for a healthy diet. They contain plenty of vitamins and minerals, fiber and valuable secondary plant substances. But not only that: A new study now indicates that the daily consumption of walnuts can improve intestinal health and reduce the risk of heart disease.

According to a communication from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), the researchers found that daily consumption of walnuts has been linked to an increase in certain bacteria that can help promote health. In addition, these changes in intestinal bacteria were associated with a reduction in some risk factors for heart disease.

Regular walnuts as a snack

Penn State assistant professor Kristina Petersen said the study, recently published in the Journal of Nutrition, suggests that walnuts could be a heart and gut healthy snack.

“Replacing your regular snack with walnuts – especially if it’s an unhealthy snack – is a small change you can make to improve your diet,” said the scientist.

“Small dietary improvements can greatly improve health.” According to the researcher, eating two to three ounces of walnuts a day (about 55 to 85 grams) “could be a good way to improve gut health and the risk of.” To reduce heart disease. “

Heart health benefits

Previous research has shown that walnuts combined with a diet low in saturated fats can have cardiac health benefits. For example, scientific work has shown that daily consumption of walnuts lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.

Other research has shown that changes in the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract – also known as the gut microbiome – can help explain the cardiovascular benefits of walnuts.

“There is a lot of research into gut health and how it affects general health,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University.

“In addition to factors such as lipids and lipoproteins, we also wanted to examine intestinal health. We also wanted to find out if changes in gut health from eating walnuts were linked to an improvement in risk factors for heart disease. ”

Comparing three different diets

42 participants with overweight or obesity between the ages of 30 and 65 were recruited for the study. Before the study started, participants were given an average American diet for two weeks.

They were then randomly assigned to one of three study diets, all of which contained less saturated fat than the diet in the two weeks before the study.

The diets included one that contained whole walnuts, one that contained the same amount of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids without walnuts, and one that partially contained oleic acid (another fatty acid) in the same amount of ALA, like you can find in walnuts. The third diet does not include walnuts either.

In all three diets, walnuts or vegetable oils replaced saturated fat, and all participants followed the respective diet for six weeks. In order to analyze the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, stool samples were collected.

Risk factors for heart disease have been reduced

“The walnut diet enriched a number of intestinal bacteria that have been associated with health benefits in the past,” Petersen said. Among other things, Roseburia, a genus of bacteria, “which has been associated with the protection of the intestinal mucosa. We also observed an accumulation of Eubacteria eligens and Butyricicoccus. “

The researchers also found that after the walnut diet, there were significant associations between changes in intestinal bacteria and risk factors for heart disease. For example, a larger number of Lachnospiraceae was associated with a greater decrease in blood pressure, total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol.

After the other two diets, no correlation was found between an accumulation of bacteria and risk factors for heart disease.

Improve the gut microbiome

Regina Lamendella, associate professor of biology at Juniata College, Pennsylvania, said the results are an example of how people can positively affect the gut microbiome.

“Foods like whole walnuts offer a variety of substrates – such as fatty acids, fiber and bioactive compounds – that are good for our gut microbiomes,” says Lamendella. “This, in turn, can help create useful metabolites and other products for our bodies.”

Kris-Etherton added that future research can continue to investigate how walnuts affect the microbiome and other elements of health.

“The study gives us evidence that nuts can change gut health, and we’re now interested in expanding them and looking at how they can affect blood sugar levels,” said the researcher. (Ad)