One of the commonest gifts that we received during Diwali were boxes of dry fruits. Sis and I would quickly polish off the raisins, cashewnuts, dates and almonds (in that order), leaving the walnuts behind.
"Eat the walnuts, they are very good for you. They will make your brain grow...can't you see, they even look like the brain" our grandma would say urging us to eat the walnuts.
But we would stubbornly dismiss her."You say walnuts and we say brownies", we'd say to her. After all, with the slightly bitter taste, who wanted to eat them unless they were in them brownies!!

Grandma is long gone, but yes ajji, you were so right about the walnuts being good for our brains.


Our brain cells are composed primarily of fats and to keep them functioning properly, the brain cells need to be continuously replenished mainly with omega 3 fats. Walnuts are rich in Omega 3, in fact they are one of the best sources of omega3fatty acids.

In addition, recent research suggests that walnuts and pecans have a plethora of health benefits:

- the protective fat from walnuts can in fact undo some of the detrimental effects of a diet high in saturated fats. Research has indicated that eating walnuts after a fatty meal help to reduce the sudden onset of harmful inflammation and oxidation in arteries that follows a meal high in saturated fat. But hey, this doesn't imply that one can eat what one wishes so long as you eat walnuts!!

- walnuts alongwith pecan nuts and chestnuts have the highest concentration of anti - oxidants in the nut family and numerous studies have shown that consumption of these nuts lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.

- not only do walnuts and pecans keep the LDL and total cholesterol levels at bay(thereby improving the HDL to LDL ratio), they also significantly increase the arterial elasticity. Moreover, walnuts are effective in reducing levels of certain molecules that contribute to atherosclerosis.
In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently cleared the health claim that "eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease."

- most importantly, walnuts and pecan nuts 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.

- in addition, walnuts help prevent and control high blood pressure, protect bone health, promote good sleep and prevent gallstones.

- the vitamin E in pecans is believed to be beneficial for intestinial and prostrate health.

This is just a snapshot of the many health benefits of walnuts and pecans, for a more detailed understanding look here and here.

So....just cook with walnuts and pecans between now and Feb. 28 and send them to me at servedwithlove.aquadaze@gmail.com. Don't forget to include:

- your blog name
-the URL of your entry
- a picture of your entry

As before, old posts re-posted linking to this announcement are welcome. And multiple entries? Yes, yes, yes!!

Thank you all for your participation in Let's go nuts: Peanuts. Round up's being posted on Wednesday, Feb.4.

And if any of you would like to host Let's go nuts, do write to me!!