John Myers
Walnuts are healthy: Among other things, they contain the vitamin-like substances choline and lecithin, which the brain needs for fast data transmission. A US study showed that students could think more critically after eating walnuts. However, this only applied to those subjects who were already among the more intelligent.
Walnuts curb your appetite for fat and sweets
Walnuts consist of 65 percent mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. That is why they have high-calorie content. But walnuts do not necessarily make you fat: they curb the craving for fat and sweets. So if you eat walnuts instead of chips or chocolate, you don’t necessarily have to fear an increase in weight.
A fatty acid is good for blood vessels
The high content of triple unsaturated fatty acids in walnuts is positive: 100 grams of walnuts contain 7.5 grams of alpha-linolenic acid, more than any other nut. This fatty acid keeps cells elastic, lowers blood pressure, and protects the heart.
In addition, walnuts are rich in vitamin E, which protects cells from free radicals and reduces inflammation. Due to their high potassium content, walnuts are also important for muscles and nerves.
Recognize fresh walnut
Identifying a fresh walnut when shopping is easy: it doesn’t click when you shake it. Because over time, the core in the shell contracts and then hits the shell when you shake it. Walnuts are considered fresh for a maximum of one year after harvest. If they sit longer, their fat will become rancid and their taste musty.
Origin determines the taste
The walnut used to be so expensive that it was called the “king nut”. Because only royal families could afford the nut, which was noble at the time. From Central Asia, the walnut found its way across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Today, the walnut is mainly native to the USA, China, Turkey, Italy, and southwest Germany.
Walnuts differ in taste depending on their country of origin: Walnuts from Chile, for example, taste rather sweet, while French walnuts are very nutty and soft. The further north the cultivation area, the more bitter the taste of the walnut.
