BLACK WALNUT
There is no better snack around or easier way to add extra nutrition, flavor and crunch to your meal than by adding a handful of
Black Walnuts. While walnuts are harvested in December, they are available year-round to help us get those all important omega 3 fatty acids. Black Walnuts trees grow in the central to eastern regions of North America. The most notable attribute of the black walnut tree is its characteristic smell. The
Black Walnuts are covered in a smooth hard shell that is difficult to break. The black walnut has a long history of medicinal and food uses.
Black Walnuts used as treatment for diphtheria and syphilis, and is now used mostly for the astringent properties of its hulls and bark. The nuts continue to be a popular ingredient in a number of bakery products.
Black Walnuts contain essential fatty acids that may help to protect the body against heart disease. The astringents in black walnut, known as tannins and juglone, help to tighten the top layers of skin or mucous membranes, thereby limiting secretions, relieving irritation, and improving tissue firmness. Consequently,
Black Walnuts has been considered an effective treatment for gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea. Many believe that black walnut may have some ability for eliminating internal parasites such as tapeworms.
Black Walnuts are a very good source of manganese and a good source of
copper, two minerals that are essential cofactors in a number of enzymes important in antioxidant defenses.
Black Walnuts also contain an antioxidant compound called Ellagic acid, which blocks the metabolic pathways that can lead to cancer. Ellagic acid not only helps protect healthy cells from free radical damage, but also helps detoxify potential cancer-causing substances and helps prevent cancer cells from replicating.
Health Benefits Of Black Walnut:
When it comes to their health benefits, walnuts definitely are not a hard nut to crack. This delicious nut is an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, a special type of protective fat the body cannot manufacture.
Black Walnut'sconcentration of omega-3s has many potential health benefits ranging from cardiovascular protection, to the promotion of better cognitive function, to anti-inflammatory benefits helpful in asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. In addition,
Black Walnuts contain an antioxidant compound called ellagic acid that supports the immune system and appears to have anticancer properties.
Adding
Black Walnuts to your diet can be an important step in improving your cardiovascular health. A host of studies have shown that increasing the dietary intake of monounsaturated-dense walnuts has favorable effects on high cholesterol levels and other cardiovascular risk factors. In addition to their heart-protective monounsaturated fats, Black Walnuts concentration of omega-3 essential fatty acids is also responsible for the favorable effects on cardiovascular risk factors. Omega-3s benefit the cardiovascular system by helping to prevent erratic heart rhythms, making blood less likely to clot inside arteries and improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol against potentially harmful (LDL) cholesterol. Omega-3s also reduce inflammation, which is a key component in the processes that turn cholesterol into artery-clogging plaques. Since
Black Walnuts contain relatively high levels of l-arginine, an essential amino acid, they may also be of special import when it comes to hypertension. In the body, l-arginine is converted into nitric oxide, which helps keep the inner walls of blood vessels smooth and allows blood vessels to relax.
The green shells around the
Black Walnuts are usually used internally as a blood cleanser. With warts, there is usually an internal problem with blood impurity or with the immune system. This remedy should be given along with herbs or foods that have a laxative effect, to ensure that the internal toxins are expelled from the body. This remedy is said to have a good effect on blood sugar in high blood sugar problems.
Black Walnuts hulls contain a substance which helps the body eliminate parasites. Although this is the primary purpose of this herb, it is also used for poison oak, ringworm and skin ailments. It has antifungal properties and is also said to promote bowel regularity. In addition to lowering LDL cholesterol, the Black Walnut-rich ALA diet helps to
• decreased levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and E-selection
• lowered levels of C-reactive protein
• increased levels of the protective omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
