A study published in the medical journal Circulation on August 30th, 2021, showed that eating half a cup of walnuts every day for 2 years, significantly lowered the total and bad cholesterol (the LDL cholesterol) in the participants of the WAHA study (Walnuts and Healthy Aging). Study participants had a mean age of 69 years, and were enrolled from Barcelona, Spain and California, the USA. The good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and the triglyceride levels were not affected.
This study confirms that finding of numerous previous studies that found that walnuts, which are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, are associated with reduced rates of heart disease and stroke. In this study, participants who ate daily walnuts did not put on extra weight. This was a concern that was raised regarding the daily eating of walnuts, and nuts eating in general. This study adds to the mounting evidence that eating a handful of nuts every day is a simple way to promote cardiovascular health.