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Walnuts and Health

Good for Bone Health

Walnuts contribute nutrients essential to a healthy lifestyle. Best of all, they taste great and are ideally suited for inclusion in any diet.

A study evaluating the effect of dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA/omega-3s) provided by walnuts and flaxseed, on bone turnover found bone health improved with ALA consumption in a clinical research study published in the January 2007 issue of Nutrition Journal. ¹   

Methods:

• Controlled human feeding study including 23 participants.
• Participants followed three different diets over a six week time frame for each: 1) Average American Diet, 2) Linoleic Diet and 3) ALA Diet.
• Specific markers of bone metabolism and resorption measured during each diet.  

Results:

• The researchers concluded that the “results indicate that plant sources of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have a protective effect on bone metabolism via a decrease in bone resorption in the presence of consistent levels of bone formation.”