A study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that eating a diet high in walnuts may decrease cholesterol and fight inflammation, two major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The authors of the study stated that, "Consumption of nuts has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease events and death," and that "Walnuts in particular have a unique profile: they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which may improve blood lipids and other cardiovascular disease risk factors."
The researchers analyzed the results of 13 different studies conducted on a total of 365 participants who had obtained between 10 and 24 percent of their calories from walnuts for four to 24 weeks. They found that participants on a high-walnut diet underwent significant decreases in total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. "When compared with control diets, diets supplemented with walnuts resulted in a significantly greater decrease in total cholesterol and in LDL-cholesterol concentrations," the researchers wrote.
The researchers also found other indicators that even though a high-walnut diet is high in fat, it seems to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease rather than raising it. In addition, "Other results reported in the trials indicated that walnuts provided significant benefits for certain antioxidant capacity and inflammatory markers and had no adverse effects on body weight," the researchers wrote.
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