A study conducted by researchers from the Center for Health and Social Research at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, and published in the journal “Geoscience” on September 30, revealed a strong link between consumption of intoxicants in general and walnuts in particular, and a reduced risk of dementia.
The name dementia is given to a group of symptoms associated with a group of diseases that affect a person’s thinking and mental and social abilities, and it is not the name of a specific disease. It is a pathological disorder that affects a person, and it is not a natural change in the brain due to aging. Rather, this change leads to a decline in the person’s quality of life in general.
Pandora Diwan points out in an article published in the American magazine “Newsweek” that today there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease – which is the most common cause of dementia – although neuroscientists estimate that 45% of Alzheimer’s cases can be delayed or prevented through changes in Lifestyle, including our diet.
A handful of nuts that will protect your health
Data were extracted from the UK Biobank, a biomedical database investigating the contributions of genetics and environment to the development of various diseases. Participants aged 40 to 70 years were followed for an average of 7 years after the initial assessment.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that those who ate nuts daily saw a 12% reduction in the risk of developing dementia from any cause. As for participants who ate up to one handful of nuts daily, their risk of infection decreased by 16%. It has also been observed that unsalted nuts have a more positive effect than salted nuts.
The study does not conclusively prove that nuts prevent dementia, although these results are consistent with previous studies showing the benefits of eating nuts on brain health. For example, a study conducted on 16,000 American nurses, published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging in 2014, revealed that those who ate nuts at least 5 times a week performed better on cognitive tests than those who did not.
Another study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2023 found that older adults who ate two handfuls of mixed nuts daily (including walnuts, pistachios, cashews, and hazelnuts) over 16 weeks showed significant improvements in memory and blood flow to the brain.
One walnut for a healthy mind
Walnuts, in particular, have been linked to better brain health, as studies have shown that eating just one walnut per day is associated with improved cognitive tests, especially among older adults.
According to the authors of the latest study, eating nuts may improve blood vessel health and lower blood pressure and inflammation, and this may be a result of the high concentrations of healthy fats and vitamins in these foods. Vitamin E, found in many nuts, may also play a protective role in brain health, the researchers wrote.