Potential brain-health benefits of a walnut-enriched diet

[Teezer]

Animal study reveals potential brain-health benefits of a walnut-enriched diet

The research group examined the effects of dietary supplementation on mice with 6 percent or 9 percent walnuts, which are equivalent to 1 ounce and 1.5 ounces per day, respectively, of walnuts in humans. This research stemmed from a previous cell culture study3 led by Dr. Chauhan that highlighted the protective effects of walnut extract against the oxidative damage caused by amyloid beta protein. This protein is the major component of amyloid plaques that form in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease.

I love walnuts. My wife makes a yummy Waldorf salad that I frequently get for lunch.

And almonds. I eat a handful of almonds after every trip to the gym.

I'm a nutty guy...

[KatieS]

Is that 14-21 walnuts daily? The side of my family that were infamous nut eaters, also carried the E4 , but no AD. Nuts, NO bread and goat milk!

[Gilgamesh]

I love walnuts! But this study doesn't help much if we don't know whether the diets were isocaloric (since the walnut eaters could have eaten less/lost weight, and that's the true ind. variable). Anyone read this study?

Still, main point: yum, walnuts!

GB

[Tincup]

Previous in vitro studies have shown that walnut extract can inhibit amyloid-β (Aβ) fibrillization, can solubilize its fibrils, and has a protective effect against Aβ-induced oxidative stress and cellular death. In this study, we analyzed the effect of dietary supplementation with walnuts on learning skills, memory, anxiety, locomotor activity, and motor coordination in the Tg2576 transgenic (tg) mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD-tg). From the age of 4 months, the experimental groups of AD-tg mice were fed custom-mixed diets containing 6% walnuts (T6) or 9% walnuts (T9), i.e., equivalent to 1 or 1.5 oz, respectively, of walnuts per day in humans. The control groups, i.e., AD-tg and wild-type mice, were fed a diet without walnuts (T0, Wt). These experimental and control mice were examined at the ages of 13–14 months by Morris water maze (for spatial memory and learning ability), T maze (for position discrimination learning ability), rotarod (for psychomotor coordination), and elevated plus maze (for anxiety-related behavior). AD-tg mice on the control diet (T0) showed memory deficit, anxiety-related behavior, and severe impairment in spatial learning ability, position discrimination learning ability, and motor coordination compared to the Wt mice on the same diet. The AD-tg mice receiving the diets with 6% or 9% walnuts (T6 and T9) showed a significant improvement in memory, learning ability, anxiety, and motor development compared to the AD-tg mice on the control diet (T0). There was no statistically significant difference in behavioral performance between the T6/T9 mice on walnuts-enriched diets and the Wt group on the control diet. These findings suggest that dietary supplementation with walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, or slowing the progression of, or preventing AD.

It is isocaloric. You can read the full pdf in link off this page: http://iospress.metapress.com/content/n644184610325684/

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[Gilgamesh]

Thanks, George! I somehow missed the link to the full article. (I went directly to PubMed, out of habit.) Good, then. I'll keep eating walnuts, but for a new reason, beyond the tastiness!

GB

[Silverlining]

I've been eating walnuts every morning for over a year now. I keep them in the freezer. Hopefully it's working for me since the cold sores (a different current thread) are against me! Thanks for posting

[Tincup]

Restated, "replacing soybean oil with fat from walnuts shows brain benefits in a cr@p diet..."

[Gilgamesh]

George, yeah.... They even increased cornstarch a bit in the control group for good measure.

They should have, at a minimum, compared a few additional groups eating various other nuts.

GB

[LillyBritches]

I was eating a combo of seven-eight walnuts, seven-eight pecans, one-two brazil nuts, five-six almonds, and some chia seed sprinklings on either sheep/goat yogurt or salads...daily. However, although it was yummy to the max, and very good for me, I sure was stalled with weight loss. When I went on Medifast (and I'm losing weight steadily and quickly), nuts were a no-no, as were seeds. I plan to return to my seedy and nutty fare when I've dropped the proper amount of girth. My goal sure isn't to become model-emaciated, though - that's changed over the years - I now want to appear muscular and fit and have amazing strength and flexibility. I want to be trim, taut, defined and feel lithe and possess ease of movement in my physical space.

But, I digress from nuts. And now I've no more to say about nuts. Aw, nuts.

Oh, I know what I wanted to say - Kitano - I don't do dairy, either. It's either goat or, preferably, sheep yogurt. Have you tried sheep yogurt? Oh. Em. Gee. Soooooo good. Can't eat that, either, on Medifast...so I feed it to my mom vicariously...with added nuts. She LOVES the stuff. VERY low sugars.

[LillyBritches]

Oh, and re the walnuts containing a high amount of ALA (alpha-linolenic (or lipoic) acid) - a resounding YES. I've been taking the more bioavailable, stable, and biologically active form of ALA, stabilized R Alpha-Lipoic Acid, for almost a year now. The R form is identical to the ALA produced by the body. Basically, it's more potent. I take Life Extension R-Lipoic Acid, 240 mg, once per day.