A growing body of research is supporting earlier findings that nuts actually help lower cholesterol. The latest study, conducted at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, documented that walnuts lowered the risk of coronary heart disease by 11%.

In this study, people with high cholesterol who ate a healthy Mediterranean diet had even further reductions in cholesterol and heart disease risk when walnuts were substituted for some of the foods and part of the monounsaturated fat (olive oil) in their diet. They were told to eat 8-11 walnuts a day, as snacks or with meals in deserts or salads.

Total cholesterol was lowered by 4.1% and LDL cholesterol by 5.9% more in the people using nuts than in those on the regular Mediterranean diet. HDL levels were not affected. Thus the HDL:LDL ratio was improved.

Eating nuts is often avoided due to their fat content. However, as more is learned about different types of fat, the benefits of eating nuts are being more widely discussed. The types of fat in walnuts are mainly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, considered “good” lipids. Walnuts are also a good source of protein and dietary fiber. Over the next few weeks, we’ll include some recipes that use walnuts on this site.

Sources:

• Zambon D, Sabate J, Munoz S, et al. Substituting walnuts for monounsaturated fat improves the serum lipid profile of hypercholesterolemic men and women. Annals of Internal Medicine 2000;132(7):538-546.
• California Walnuts. Scientific Update. June 2000.