A new scientific study presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Anaheim found that walnuts outrank other tree and ground nuts in nutritional value. The analysis showed that walnuts have more antioxidants of a higher quality than any other nut.
“Walnuts rank above peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios and other nuts,” said Joe Vinson, Ph.D., who did the analysis. “A handful of walnuts contains almost twice as much antioxidants as an equivalent amount of any other commonly consumed nut. But unfortunately, people don’t eat a lot of them. This study suggests that consumers should eat more walnuts as part of a healthy diet.”
Many years of study have shown that a moderate consumption of nuts or peanut butter is associated with lower levels of heart disease, gallstones, Type 2 diabetes and certain times of cancer. Walnuts are also an excellent source protein, making it a good substitute for meat.
“There’s another advantage in choosing walnuts as a source of antioxidants,” said Vinson, who is with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. “The heat from roasting nuts generally reduces the quality of the antioxidants. People usually eat walnuts raw or unroasted, and get the full effectiveness of those antioxidants.”
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