Walnuts

[Louise]

I love walnuts, cracking a whole walnut reminds me of being a child at my grandparents house at Christmas. It brings about a sense of family, happiness and fun. The creamy nut is so moorish and the struggle to fish the nut out of its hard shell makes the prize even more tantalising.

As a curious child I’ve always been fascinated by the shape of walnuts and how they resemble the brain, as an adult I found it hardly surprising then that walnuts are an excellent source of the essential fatty acids omega-3 and 6, known to help improve memory and cognitive function. So what else can these amazing nuts do for our health?

They are a great source of biotin and vitamin E, both of which can help your hair and nails to grow stronger and longer, as well as prevent hair loss.

They can help sperm quality, in terms of vitality, motility, and prevent abnormal sperm morphology and growth.

Walnuts can help prevent depression due to their high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, an all rounder for good brain health.

Walnuts have the highest amount of antioxidants in the nut family, and this boost of antioxidants can help to slow the growth of both prostate and breast cancers.

They are great for the skin due to their powerful antioxidants and vitamin E, you can benefit in two ways, through eating them, or topically by applying walnut oil directly to the skin.

Two to three servings a day can decrease cholesterol levels enough to reduce you risk of coronary heart disease.

Walnuts contain a lot of B vitamins, which are known for helping to extract energy from our foods, this means that consuming a handful of walnuts may help to give your energy a boost. Perfect for long walks or exercising.

A word of caution consuming too many walnuts is thought to cause kidney stones due to their oxalate content.