Walnuts are one of the densest naturally occurring sources of omega-3’s – they have much higher concentrations of these healthy fats than any kind of fish.

People who eat at least 3 ounces (loose handfuls) of walnuts a week have a 50% reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and sudden death due to cardiac arrhythmias. (www.walnuts.org)

Walnuts lower levels of LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and improve HDL/LDL ratios.

There is evidence that walnuts improve cognitive functioning. College students who ate 1/2 cup of walnuts a day showed significant improvement in "critical thinking".

A study done by the Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, showed significantly lower mental depression scores in walnut eaters than in non-walnut nut eaters and in non nut consumers. (https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu11020275)

Walnuts improve memory deficits and learning skills in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease, and diet studies in humans have shown potential protective effects in developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

Walnuts have been shown to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. They improve insulin resistance and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetes.

Walnuts have been shown to suppress appetite and to be an effective weight loss aid. Read about it on the New York Times, Forbes, and Harvard Medical School websites. A recent study of three large independent cohorts (Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Nurses’ Health Study I and II) has shown that increases in nut consumption, especially walnuts, is significantly associated with less weight gain over a 20-24 year follow up. (https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2019/08/27/bmjnph-2019-000034)

Because omega-3’s reduce inflammation, there are indications that they can reduce symptoms of arthritis and improve lung function (https://12ft.io/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/omegas-reduce-inflammation-lung-health ).

The short chain omega-3’s that are found in walnuts (ALA) have the same biological activity as the long chain omega-3’s found in fish (DHA and EPA), as shown by epidemiological studies. In addition, some short chain omega-3’s are converted to long chain omega-3’s in the body. Walnuts are also very high in cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, and studies on laboratory mouse models have shown significant anti-breast and anti-prostate cancer properties.

The health benefits of walnuts have been studied at least as well as those of fish and red wine.

Walnuts are a more sustainable and safe source of omega 3's than fish. Worldwide the fishing industry is rapidly depleting wild populations. Fishing is the last vestige of market hunting (think buffaloes), and the deep, cold-water fish, highest in omega-3’s, are among the most endangered. Furthermore, wild fish (esp. the ones high on the food chain which are high in omega-3's) often have high levels of mercury and other toxins, while farmed fish have been shown to harm wild populations of ocean fish – especially salmon, where wild juvenile salmon are subjected to lethal infestations of sea lice originating from fish farms. Farmed fish can escape and pollute the gene pools of wild fish populations. In addition, fish farms damage coastal ecosystems, especially in the developing world, and farmed fish are fed other species of wild fish, resulting in a net loss of wild fish.

Note that because of the high omega-3 fats, walnuts will go bad if not stored properly. Industry standards indicate that walnuts can be stored for 2 years frozen and one year refrigerated.

Click here for: A cross sectional study of the association between walnut consumption and cognitive function among adult US populations represented in NHANES