By Joan McDaniel August 30, 2012 Updated November 22, 2013
Nuts provide high quality antioxidants that fight inflammation and free-radical damage.
Nuts are a natural whole food, you do not need an expensive insurance paid prescriptions, from your expensive insurance paid doctor, for an expensive and toxic insurance paid pharmaceutical
Drug, that probably does nothing except give you side effects.
Nuts are a from of a long list of natural whole antioxidant foods. (NaturalNews) “ Natural whole foods are packed with synergistic nutrients that work together in unity to provide a plethora of health benefits without causing negative side effects — and walnuts are no exception!”
“Nuts are rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamins including Vitamin E. What’s more they have a wide variety of health benefits, particularly for the cardiovascular system. Nuts are also a source of l-arginine, a substance that improves artery walls by making them more flexible and less prone to blood clots. Some nuts also contain healthy plant sterols.”
There are several types of nuts and nut butters:
Almond, Almond butter/cheese/milk, Beechnut, Brazil, Butternut, Cashew, Cashew butter, Chestnut, Chia seed, Flaxseed, hazelnut (filbert), Hickory, Litchi, Macadamia, Peanut, Peanut Butter, Pecan, Pecan butter, Pine (Pignola), Pistachio, Poppy seed, Pumpkin Seed, Sesame butter, Sesame seed, Sunflower butter, Sunflower seed, and Walnut (black/English)
But the King for health benefits is the Walnut.
Walnuts are considered the king of nuts for health benefits according to U.S. researchers. Walnuts contain higher quality antioxidants then even almonds, peanuts, pecans or any other nut.
Why do we need antioxidants?
Glycation theory:
Diets consisting of excess Glucose or sugar cause Glycation. Glycation is like oxidation with glucose taking the place of Oxygen. When a white blood cell encounters a glyrated protein, it sets off an inflammatory reaction which creates Advanced Gyration End Products (AGE’s). The receptors for AGEs are known as RAGE leading to chronic inflammation and degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes. The more you accumulate, the more quickly you and your brain age.
Man made Polyunsaturated Hydrogenated Fat (Crisco):
Not only excess sugar but diets consisting of polyunsaturated hydrogenated oils are a major cause of free radicals. Hydrogenation, a man made cooking fat added a hydrogen atom to the fatty acid chain which created a polyunsaturated fat or Trans-fat. Polyunsaturated fats readily oxidize and become destructive free-radicals. Once free-radicals are formed they attack other unsaturated fats and proteins steeling an electron and creating more free radicals and stress and inflammation.
Our only defense against free radicals is antioxidants. Antioxidants found in fresh, minimally processed foods are helpful to your health because they are able to provide the electrons that free radicals want. Once free radicals are neutralized by antioxidants, they become harmless, and are eventually eliminated from your body.
Inflammation – is a normal natural response to injury and stress to the body. It stimulates the influx of blood and oxygen into the injured area to facilitate healing. The blood brings platelets to stop bleeding, if necessary, along with other proteins to rebuild damaged tissues. Inflammation will remain as long there is irritation causing chronic inflammation.
“All Illness is caused by Inflammation.”
(NaturalNews) “Persistent, systemic inflammation is at the root of practically all known chronic health conditions, including everything from rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol to dementia and cancer. These health conditions are not necessarily inevitable, and neither is chronic inflammation.” This inflammation can be reduced and cured by watching what you eat and eating foods that help fight inflammation.
Free radicals – Are toxic renegade molecules that attack and destroy other molecules
Accumulation of damage over the years results in degenerative tissues and loss of function that typifies old age. Basically a free radical is a molecule that is missing a neuron; it is a reactive element that then steals this neuron from healthy cells thru a process call oxidation. The tissue becomes impaired over time. (Oxidation is the process that also causes iron to rust.) Once a free-radical reaction is started, it causes a chain reaction which in turn will destroy thousands of cells. The brain tissue of neurodegenerative diseases are riddled with free radical damage.
Antioxidants found in fresh, minimally processed foods are helpful to your health because they are able to provide the electrons that free radicals want. Once free radicals are neutralized by antioxidants, they become harmless, and are eventually eliminated from your body.
There are literally hundreds of illnesses caused by chronic inflammation and free-radicals, but modern medicine (Allopathic medicine) has classified this inflammation as unique and unrelated, when in fact they are all products of the same underlying imbalances inside the body. When the root causes of these imbalances are properly addressed chronic illness is less likely to taking hold and the body is left free to fix itself.
Generally Inflammation is caused by consuming the Standard American Diet (SAD) or food stripped of all nutrition. The USDA’s Food Pyramid or Food Plate is a diet high in simple carbohydrates and refined sugars and low in fat especially saturated fat.
There are additional causes of inflammation such as environmental toxicity, not drinking enough clean water, lack of sleep, and lack of exercise all contribute to low levels of chronic inflammation. But diet is the main cause. Inflammation often goes undetected for many years until disease finally emerges.
I found an Video which is extremely helpful on Inflammation November 22, 2013 Joan
Inflammation is associated with killer diseases
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/videos/the-science-of-healthy-eating/inflammation-and-food.html
Inflammation has been linked to conditions or diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Many books have been written about “Anti-inflammatory diets.” They tend to complicate some very simple guidelines and then try to
sell you expensive supplements.
Here, Dr. Randy Horwitz keeps it simple.
Eating a whole foods diet that eliminates highly processed foods and emphasizes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables is key to reducing inflammation in the body.
Video (1:48):
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/11400.html
A Handful of Walnuts is enough to Boost Your Health
Reportedly, it only takes about seven walnuts a day to get their potential health benefits.
But Eat Nuts
Eat nuts at least 1 to 2 OZ. a day. Walnut and Almonds (Natural Almonds not Pasteurized) are at the top of the list but any and all nuts are good to eat.
Walnuts
The amazing thing about walnuts and other whole foods, is no single nutrient inside them can be pinpointed and isolated as the sole beneficial factor. In explaining this very important fact, researchers note in their report that “[t]he walnut diet’s beneficial effects probably represent the effects of the whole walnuts’ multiple constituents and not via a specific fatty acid or tocopherol.” In other words you cannot manufacture the whole food’s benefit, nor can you improve on Nature. This benefit cannot be man made.
What else can you do, to fix the inflammation caused by Free Radicals?
There are other food high in antioxidants. Many of these foods are called super foods like the berry. The super food berry includes blueberry, strawberries and basically all berries. There are hundreds of superfoods. This web-site will be covering many of them.
The best place to start is to eat a good diet and to concentrate on decreasing intake of food that causes inflammation in the first place.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036722_inflammation_disease_prevention.html
Walnuts may help battle prostate cancer – Western Farm Press
Benefits and Ways to Enjoy Walnuts – Sheer Balance
http://www.naturalnews.com/036913_walnuts_almonds_health_benefits.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nuts/HB00085
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111111095222.htm
http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_100/100_eating_well.html
http://www.upi.com
http://www.shape.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17125534
http://health.learninginfo.org/benefits-nuts.htm
