When it comes to fighting free radicals that damage our body's cells and lead to disease, walnuts are a tough nut to beat. In fact, a handful of walnuts contain almost twice as much antioxidants (the substance that fights free radicals) as an equivalent amount of any other commonly consumed nut.
Now a just-released study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, reports that walnuts are even more than theyre cracked up to be: They may help with both memory and physical coordination in seniors.
In the study conducted at Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, 344 rats with an average age of 19 months received a diet consisting of 2%, 6% or 9% diet of walnuts or placebo for 8 weeks. During this time, they underwent both physical and memory tests. The 6% diet in the rats is equal to one ounce of walnuts (9 walnuts) per day. By the end of the 8 weeks, the rats in the 2% and 6% groups had significant improvements in both age-related motor and cognitive deficits.
In their report researchers said that these findings show for the first time that moderate dietary walnut supplementation can improve cognitive and motor performance in aged rats and that walnuts, eaten in moderation, appear to be among other foods containing polyphenols and bioactive substances that have a beneficial effect on brain tissue.
