Can walnuts protect against Alzheimer's disease? - ConsumerAffairs

Walnuts are a natural food and play a prominent role in the popular Mediterranean diet. Over the years health advocates have extolled their many health benefits.

Now, scientists in New York have completed an animal study that suggests another health benefit - reducing the risk, delaying the onset, slowing the progression of, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

The research carried out by the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR) found significant improvement in learning skills, memory, reducing anxiety, and motor development in mice fed a walnut-enriched diet.

The researchers think that might have something to do with the high antioxidant content found in walnuts. They speculate these antioxidants provided protection to the mouse brain, preventing the degeneration typically seen in Alzheimer's disease. Oxidative stress and inflammation are prominent features in this disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans.

Promising results

'These findings are very promising and help lay the groundwork for future human studies on walnuts and Alzheimer's disease - a disease for which there is no known cure,' said lead researcher Dr. Abha Chauhan. 'Our study adds to the growing body of research that demonstrates the protective effects of walnuts on cognitive functioning.'

For the study the mice were fed dietary supplements with 6% to 9% walnuts, which is the equivalent of a human eating 1 to 1.5 ounces each day.

It's estimated that someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer's disease every 67 seconds, and that number is expected to escalate rapidly as the Baby Boom generation ages. By 2050, health experts say the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease may nearly triple, from 5 million to as many as 16 million, creating new urgency to find treatments or a cure.

Walnuts and cancer

Walnuts are said to have other health and nutritional benefits, including reducing the risk of prostate and breast cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) says there are a few dozen studies investigating cancer and whole walnuts, with many more on the compounds they contain.

However, AICR says the current evidence is too limited to draw any conclusions about walnuts - or any nuts - and cancer risk.

Walnut's healthy effect on the heart is better documented. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says in the last 2 decades a number of clinical studies have evaluated the effects of walnut consumption on cardio-vascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

According to NIH, walnuts can reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure, both major risk factors for CVD.

Part of a healthy diet

'The effect of walnuts on multiple CVD targets over relatively short periods of time supports recommendations for their inclusion in a heart-healthy diet,' NIH says.

Walnuts have also been shown to be effective in weight control. They are a good source of fiber and make you feel full.

At the same time, you need to be prudent with your walnut consumption because they are loaded with calories. A tablespoon of chopped walnuts contains about 50 calories.

Entities 0 Name: AICR Count: 2 1 Name: NIH Count: 2 2 Name: CVD Count: 2 3 Name: Mediterranean Count: 1 4 Name: U.S. Count: 1 5 Name: National Institutes of Health Count: 1 6 Name: New York State Institute for Basic Research Count: 1 7 Name: New York Count: 1 8 Name: Dr. Abha Chauhan Count: 1 9 Name: Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory Count: 1 10 Name: American Institute for Cancer Research Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1CUoTOa Title: What if Age Is Nothing but a Mind-Set? Description: One day in the fall of 1981, eight men in their 70s stepped out of a van in front of a converted monastery in New Hampshire. They shuffled forward, a few of them arthritically stooped, a couple with canes. Then they passed through the door and entered a time warp.