Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Walnuts for Diabetes?

Walnuts have long been known to be an excellent source of omega-3-fatty acids and research has shown that it can lower cholesterol and help in fighting breast cancer.
Now a new research conducted by Linda Tapsell at the University of Wollongong's (Australia) Smart Food Centre shows that including as little as 30gms of walnuts could help keep type-2 Diabetes under control. The research was also published in the European Journal Of Clinical Research.
In a year long study,50 overweight adults with non-insulin treated diabetes were put on a well balanced low fat diet (with low intakes of saturated fats). At the end of the study it was found that the group that had the walnuts on a daily basis had more of the good fats in the diet than the group who just followed a low fat diet. Most of these effects were seen in the first 3 months of the study. The walnut group also showed an improvement in the insulin levels.
Prof. Tapsell stresses on the fact that when eaten as a part of a 'balanced meal',walnuts could help deliver the right type of fat.
Read more:
  1. European Journal Of Clinical Research: The Original article.
  2. University Of Wollongang: New study reinforces significant role of walnuts in the diet.
Question: Do you have a favorite "Walnut" recipe?

25 comments:

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

niceinfo sweta. i love walnuts

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Nice write up Sweta, I have a book which I got for my inlaws for diabetes that tells us what to eat, it was a lil painful to read everything in that... you are doing an amzing job by posting it here... yup, I do have a walnut recipe :)

Pooja said...

Wow so many nutritional benefits of walnuts! I knew only the omega 3 part. Great info. Thanks for sharing :)

Smitha Suresh said...

I'm now going to recommend a couple of walnuts a day to my Aunt who's diabetic. Thanks for this post

Jenn said...

Thanks for this post. I've got a few relative who are in the range of diabetes or have them already. I'll definitely share with them this information.

Christo Gonzales said...

I am allergic to walnuts so I dont have any favorites....boo hoo

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Sweta. I hadn't read this specific research. I love walnuts in many things- I have a great blue cheese dip that is sprinkled with walnuts (but still is made with a lot of cheese), but it is so good!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Nice writeup sweta and very informative...

chow and chatter said...

another good educational post keep on blogging girl

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I love walnuts. I'll have to start telling my clients about this research, thanks :)

Pearl said...

the only time i'll add walnuts is in banana bread... other than that, i'm not a big fan :)

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

great article!!! My dad has just been diagnosed to have Diabetes, so this info is really good for me. If you have some more info about what helps Diabetes, let me know.

Astra Libris said...

Such fascinating studies! Thank you so much for including the links to the articles, too - I'm looking forward to reading them! Such a wealth of information in one post - thank you for the great lesson about walnuts! (I love a simple "salad" of apples and walnuts...)

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Smitha,Pooja,Pavithra,Astra-thank you :)
DB-hard luck!!
Ramya,Jenn,SmithaS,Angie,Gina,BJ&D-you could also ask them to include fenugreek,cinnamon & bittergourd in their diets.
Reb-you rock!
Pearl-hmmmm,try including it in salads as Astra has suggested :)

veena said...

Hi sweta .
Very useful post yaar ..Thanks a lot for the information abt walnuts..yea even my mom is having diabetics,so i can refer to her .. :)
love
veena

Dewi said...

Absolutely!
Walnut and pomegranate, it's called Muhammara. It's out of the world. You must try it. I have the recipe here: http://elrascooking.blogspot.com/2008/09/muhammara.html

Cheers,
elra

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

I've heard lately that walnuts in moderation were good for you. I'm glad after all of the bad press they've gotten.

chow and chatter said...

http://onceuponagourmetgin.blogspot.com/2009/05/celebrating-cinco-de-mayo-with-one.html?showComment=1241716200000#c1708295678210854462 thought you might like this one

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Veena-you're most welcome!
Elra-great recipe,any substitute for pomegrante syrup though?
Katherine-i believe anything in moderation is fine :)
Reb-thanks a ton,sounds yummy(and spicy)!

Kalai said...

Gr8 info.I always like to know the health benefits of the foods and I used to make Cake and Biscotti with walnuts.

Yasmeen said...

Another useful nutrition fact learned,thanks Sweta:)

Malar Gandhi said...

Sweta, thats an excellant write-up dear. I truly appreaciate your effort on this.

phanitha said...

great post....it was nice visiting your blog...

Sybil Hebert, RD said...

I wonder if it was the walnuts in the diet that improved insulin levels or if it was the macronutrient composition of the diet... if they were eating more walnuts, maybe they were eating less total carbohydrates?...
And would other omega 3 sources be as beneficial?
Interesting...thanks!!

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Kalai,Yasmeen,Malar,Phanitha-thanx :)
Sybil-good points.Most of these researches are funded by some board/company which stands to benefit by good results(and press coverage).
Other sources of omega 3 probably will also show similar benefits.