Walnuts may reduce risk of heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol

Large prospective studies suggest that frequent consumption of nuts may provide some protection against coronary heart disease.

About 58% of walnut weight is fat, and around 81% of the total calories of walnuts are derived from this fat. Walnut fat is qualitatively similar to that of some commonly used oils extracted from grains and seeds.

The favorable fatty acid composition of nuts, that is, a relatively high percentage of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, which may improve blood lipids and other cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The researchers found that both polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich walnuts and monounsaturated fatty acid-zxrich almonds improve the coronary heart disease risk profile by lowering LDL cholesterol.

Walnut can be considered an alternative food source of n-3 fatty acids that does not add cholesterol to the diet due it contains relatively large amounts of the n-3 linolenic acid, about 7 g per 100 g of edible portion, or 12 percent of their total fat content.

Study on Japanese population published in Journal of Nutrition October 2000 shows that the that replacing a portion of the fat in a reference diet with walnuts (43–53 g/d) lowers serum cholesterol concentration by 4% for normal men and 5% for normal women.
Walnuts may reduce risk of heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol

Blood cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in the walls of cells in all parts of the body, from the nervous system to the liver to the heart.

Cholesterol is steroid, essential for life. It is structural component of plasma membrane and in the insulating layer of myelin wound around neurons, precursor of the synthesis of steroid hormone and vitamin D.

Cholesterol is transported through the blood stream by lipoproteins. There are two different types of lipoproteins: LDL or low-density lipoproteins and HDL or high-density lipoprotein.

Blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with the chances of getting heart disease. High levels of cholesterol in the blood (high blood cholesterol) can be serious because it can cause fatty deposits, called plaque, to build up in arteries, making blood flow more difficult.

High blood cholesterol is a serious condition that increases the risk for heart disease, the number one killer of Americans—women and men.

What Affects Cholesterol Levels?
*Diet: Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food can make blood cholesterol go up.
*Weight: Losing weight can help lowering LDL and raise HDL.
*Physical activity: Regular physical activity can lower LDL.
Blood cholesterol

Causes of High Blood Pressure

Causes of High Blood Pressure
The causes of short term rises in blood pressure high last only seconds or minutes are well understood, but these are not what we normally mean by high blood pressure. High blood pressure is important only when it is maintained for months or years – it is a high average pressure which is significant, not occasional high peaks. The causes of a long term rises in average pressure are not fully known, but we do know that it runs in families. This inherited tendency seems to account for about half the differences between people; the rest seems to depend on how they live and what they eat (not just in adult life, but they ate in infancy and childhood and how well nourished they were before they born).

One cause we do know about is overweight and weight reduction is a sensible first step in treatment. Weight loss depends mainly on using up more energy by taking more exercise and reducing energy input. In practice the most healthy way to do this is by reducing the amount of fats, oils, meats, sugar and alcohol in the diet, and instead eating more fruit, vegetables, cereal foods and fish. Eating less fat and oil is by far the most important of these changes. Another benefit from these changes in diet is that they help lower blood cholesterol levels and so reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Another known cause us excessive alcohol (which means more than 4 units of alcohol a day for a man or 3 units a day for woman – a unit alcohol is one glass of wine or one single measure of spirits or half a pint of average strength beer or lager). Again the biggest effect is in young people, limiting alcohol intake often brings high blood pressure back to normal without any other treatment.
Causes of High Blood Pressure