Walnuts and Health
Mediterranean Diet
Walnuts are a traditional component in the Mediterranean diet and a key ingredient in the landmark PREDIMED study: a multicenter, randomized, primary prevention trial of cardiovascular disease supported by the Spanish Health Ministry. The PREDIMED study, expected to be completed in 2010, is a large four-year feeding trial in Spain aimed at assessing the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Published studies on the preliminary studies have found the consumption of the Mediterranean diet, supplemented with oil olive or nuts, primarily walnuts to be associated with:1,2,3,4
Lower levels of inflammatory markers – linked to atherosclerosis, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
- Reduced arterial pressure
- Decreased blood lipids and fasting blood glucose.
- May help manage metabolic syndrome – a collection of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
1 Components of the Mediterranean-type food pattern and serum inflammatory markers among patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;62(5):651-9.
2 Effects of a Traditional Mediterranean Diet on Lipoprotein Oxidation. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Jun 11;167(11):1195-203.
3 Effects of a Traditional Mediterranean Diet on Lipoprotein Oxidation. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Jun 11;167(11):1195-203.
4 Effect of a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts on metabolic syndrome status: one-year results of the PREDIMED randomized trial. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Dec 8;168(22):2449-58.
