DIETARY BENEFITS OF WALNUTS

Adding one ounce of walnuts to the diet of children and adults who do not normally eat nuts improves diet quality and intake of some under-consumed nutrients of public health importance, according to a new study from researchers at the University School of Public Health-Bloomington.

Public health concerns due to the underconsumption of calcium, fibre, potassium, and vitamin D have been raised. However, a revolution in eating patterns by increasing the consumption of dairy products, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and whole grains will cause citizens to accomplish healthier diet goals.

For the recent findings, advanced statistical modelling techniques were used to see the one-ounce walnut wonder in the daily diet of such nut-picky eaters. Through NHANES, participant health and dietary information were derived which was analyzed by age group (4–8 years, 9–13 years, 14–18 years, 19–50 years, 51–70 years, 71 years, and older) and gender.

Assessment of the effect of adding 1 ounce of walnut and vice versa to check the diet quality was done by the researchers using the 2015 Health eating Index. It was found that there were noteworthy improvements in the diet quality of all ages and genders and in the seafood and plant protein category, including the ratio of unsaturated fats to saturated fats.

As a result, there were significant improvements in fibre intake across all age and gender categories. Potassium daily intake by an increased percentage of adults was beyond the recommended, similar happened among children and adolescents from 4-18 years, and their decreased percentage with intakes of magnesium and folate fell below the recommended daily amounts. There was a depletion in the abundance of copper and zinc within most age groups and genders.

It was reported that due to large day-to-day variations in food intake, self-reported 24-hour dietary recall data came into use to assess the modelling in this study and were subjected to a measurement error which is considered to be a drawback of this study.

It was reported that further “observational studies and well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm this study that demonstrated a potential positive nutritional impact with walnut consumption”.

Hence, this modelling study clarified that nutrient-dense foods like walnuts used to make small dietary changes may come out to be surely and significantly beneficial for nutrient intake and diet quality.