Higher Intake of Walnut Linked to Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women

Walnuts, an excellent natural snack, are recognized as a symbol of intellectuality because of their resemblance to the brain. They are one of the best nuts, as they have a lot of nutritional punch and offer an array of impressive health benefits.

The latest study has discovered that regular intake of walnuts can reduce insulin resistance.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, has discovered a strong association between walnut consumption and the reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Prior to this, there were other studies that highlighted the association between intake of walnut and reduced risk of cancer.

According to the World Health Organization, 347 million people worldwide have diabetes. Nearly 8.1 million women suffer with diabetes in the U.S., reports CDC.

The antioxidant levels in walnuts are higher in comparison to any other nut, and they are also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that are linked with lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.

To prove the hypothesis, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined two studies that monitored 137,893 nurses belonging to the age group of 35-77 over a period of 10 years. The researchers also examined the different intervals at which they consumed walnuts. None of the women had reported diabetes, cancer or any other cardiovascular disease at the beginning.

After carefully monitoring their consumption of walnuts, the researchers noticed that women who ate walnuts one to three times a month had reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 4 percent, and those who had walnuts once a week had reduced the risk by 13 percent. In addition, the risk of type 2 diabetes reduced to 24 percent in those who ate walnuts twice a week.

The results prove that a higher intake of walnuts is linked to a significant reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

"Observational studies can't prove cause and effect, but when associations are seen in large populations, and occur in a well established context, cause and effect may reliably be inferred. The findings here, the kind often seen with powerful pharmaceuticals are robust, and remarkable. They strongly indicate the importance of consuming whole foods, such as walnuts, in the fight against diabetes," diabetes and obesity expert David Katz, M.D., was quoted as saying in Diabetes in Control.com.