The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, show a 12.4 percent decrease in serum cholesterol levels of subjects fed walnuts as a part of their diets. The diet was broken down into three week periods with different nuts being fed in each period. In the last week 68 g of polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich walnuts were used to supplement the diet. Walnuts fit the bill. The percentage of monounsaturated fats and saturated fats are 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
Walnuts offer other functional benefits.
They are high in fiber, low in sodium, and contain about 14.1 grams of protein per 100 grams of edible portion, most of which is digestible. Walnuts can easily be combined with other ingredients to yield a complete protein quotient. Two fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, and linoleic acid are required in our diets because the body cannot manufacture them from dietary precursors. Although there is no Recommended Dietary Allowance for essential fatty acids in the United States, a joint Food and Agriculture Organization-World Health Organization committee recommends a desirable intake of linoleic acid between 4 and 10 percent of energy. References Food and Nutrition Board.