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Walnut Butter is getting
so much attention. Mainly because of its unique nutrient composition.
It's got the "right fats" and balance of these fats. Walnuts
are one of the most nutrient-dense food sources of alpha-linolenic
acid (ALA), an essential omega-3 fatty acid. They are the only nut
that contain a significant amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids,
2.6 grams per ounce, almost 9 times more than the next closest nut!
Walnuts are getting great attention for boosting metabolism so more
calories can be burned. Numerous studies have concluded that omega-3s
help reduce the risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes,
high blood pressure, obesity and clinical depression. |
Our walnut butter is easily spreadable, and has so many possible ways
to incorporate in the diet..Our California walnuts "English walnut,
Persian Walnut or Juglans Regia" as they are called, thrive in the
rich lands of the Valleys of the "Golden State." The majority
of the orchards can be spotted in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys
along Interstate 5 or Highway 99. We buy our walnuts from family farms.
Our walnut butter is "just" walnuts. There are no fillers or
other nuts in the jar.
NUTRITION
Our nut butter varieties are high
in protein, nutrients and unsaturated fats, low in saturated fats, and,
of course, no cholesterol or trans fatty acids. Walnuts contain important
vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein, and are the only nut with
a significant amount of essential omega-3 fatty acids.
Walnuts—the Easiest Way to Get Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration affirms the first whole food health
claim for walnuts, "Supportive but not conclusive research shows
that eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts, as part of a low saturated
fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake,
may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Please see our nutrition
page for additional information.
| NEW
STUDY... NEW STUDY... NEW STUDY |
DIET
OF WALNUTS, BLUEBERRIES FOUND TO IMPROVE COGNITION;
MAY HELP MAINTAIN BRAIN FUNCTION AND TREAT BRAIN DISORDERS |
SAN DIEGO, November 5, 2007- Scientists
are confirming that this age-old adage is worth following. And new
studies show that diet may have implications for those who suffer
from certain brain ailments.
Diets containing two percent, six percent, or nine percent walnuts,
when given to old rats, were found to reverse several parameters of
brain aging, as well as age-related motor and cognitive deficits,
says James Joseph, PhD, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human
Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston.
In previous research, Joseph and his colleagues showed that old rats
maintained for two months on diets containing two percent high antioxidant
strawberry or blueberry extracts exhibited reversals of age-related
deficits in the way that neurons function and in motor and cognitive
behavior. In the brain, antioxidant molecules wage war against molecules
known as free radicals, which can harm brain cells and brain function.
The present research extends these findings and shows that walnuts
can have a similar effect.
Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential omega-3 fatty
acid, and other polyphenols that act as antioxidants and may actually
block the signals produced by free radicals that can later produce
compounds that would increase inflammation. Findings from the studies
by Joseph and his colleague Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD, show for the
first time that shorter chain fatty acids found in plants, such as
walnuts, may have beneficial effects on cognition similar to those
from long chain fatty acids derived from animal sources, which have
been reported previously.
A six percent diet is equivalent to a person eating 1 ounce of walnuts
each day, which is the recommended amount to reduce harmful low-density
lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol, while a nine percent diet is equivalent
to people eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day. "Importantly,"
Joseph says, "this information, coupled with our previous studies,
shows that the addition of walnuts, berries, and grape juice to the
diet may increase 'health span' in aging and provide a 'longevity
dividend' or economic benefit for slowing the aging process by reducing
the incidence and delaying the onset of debilitating degenerative
disease."
Joseph and his colleagues are currently assessing whether increased
neurogenesis or alterations in stress signaling, or both, may be involved
in the mechanisms through which the walnut diets could be producing
their effects. Ongoing research suggests that walnuts involve more
than the mere "quenching" of free radicals and may in fact
involve direct effects on blocking the deleterious "stress signals"
generated by the oxidative stressors. "The beneficial effects
of walnuts also may be the direct result of enhancements of signals
which mediate such important functions as neuronal communication and
the growth of new neurons," says Joseph.
A great deal of data suggests that the deficits associated with aging,
for example, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular diseases, arise
as a result of an increasing inability of the aging organism to protect
itself against inflammation and oxidative stress, providing fertile
ground for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. "The
good news," Joseph says, "is that it appears that compounds
found in fruits and vegetables -- and, as we have shown in our research,
walnuts -- may provide the necessary protection to prevent the demise
of cognitive and motor function in aging."
Other research shows that walnut extract may play a role toward developing
novel treatments for Alzheimer's. Amyloid-ß plaques are the
primary physiological hallmark of Alzheimer's. The presence of the
enzyme acetylcholinesterase within these plaques has been confirmed,
and the enzyme has been shown to induce plaque formation. |
Another study:
After eating a high fat meal like a steak dinner or salami sandwich, it's
been found that if eaten with some walnuts/walnut butter, the nut protects
your arteries from the shock of the high-fat meal. Heart health depends
on healthy, flexible arteries. When you eat a high-fat meal, it temporarily
stuns your arteries. They stiffen and become less able to expand in response
to exercise. Over time, this repeated damage contributes to hardening
of the arteries.
But if you eat walnuts/walnut butter along with a fatty meal, the fat
has much less of a short-term effect, find Emilio Ros, MD, PhD, and colleagues.
Ros is director of the Lipid Clinic at Hospital Clínico, Barcelona,
Spain, the central location for the study. Sophisticated tests showed
that the high-fat meal had less of a blood-vessel effect on those who
ate the walnuts than on those who ate even olive oil. "This demonstrates
that the protective fat from walnuts actually undoes some of the
detrimental effects of a high-saturated-fat diet, whereas a neutral
fat, such as olive oil, does not have as much protective ability,"
University of Maryland researcher Robert A.Vogel says in a news release.
"This raises a very interesting issue because many people who eat
a Mediterranean diet believe the olive oil is providing the benefits.
But this research and other data indicate that's not true. There are probably
other factors in the diet, including that it is a relatively rich source
of nuts. This is not to say that olive oil is bad, but it’s not
the key protective factor in the Mediterranean diet." For the scientific
information, the article is: Acute Effects of High-Fat Meals Enriched
With Walnuts or Olive Oil on Postprandial Endothelial Function
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Volume 48, Issue 8, 17
October 2006, Pages 1666-1671
Berenice Cortés, Isabel Núñez, Montserrat Cofán,
Rosa Gilabert, Ana Pérez-Heras, Elena Casals, Ramón Deulofeu
and Emilio Ros
A little history: Excavations
have brought to light petrified shells of nuts that were roasted during
the Neolithic period, more than eight thousand years ago. The very name
of the walnut tree and its nut comes down to us from the Romans. The walnut
and the oil extracted from it, therefore, have been known since ancient
times.
USES
Create a toasty Walnut Hummus using walnut butter, garlic, chickpeas or
garbanzo beans, orange zest, orange juice and pepper. The walnut butters
are great with breakfast foods in that they add a tasty punch to grains
as well as protein, go great with fruit and will stave hunger off longer.
Balance out the carbs, put in oatmeal or other hot cereal. Add apples,
cranberries or raisins & dash of cinnamon.Walnuts are easily
complimented with different herbs/spices. With carrots and pineapple,
add to stuffing. Maple syrup seems to be a great sweetener with walnuts.Of
course, add chocolate to compliment walnut’s distinctive taste.
Or, purchase our perfect balance of dark chocolate in the chocolate walnut
butters we offer. The possibilities are endless -cinnamon, nutmeg, chili
powder, thyme, sea salt, paprika, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, curry
powder.
Because it is an oily nut, and we don't add anything to our nut butters,
these butters must be refrigerated even before you open the jars. Coolness
and limited light prolongs the oxidation of the delicate natural walnut
oil.
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Our
Natural & Organic Chocolate Walnut Butter is made with organic
chocolate from Fair Trade growers, or
other chocolatiers with outstanding quality dark chocolate and consciousness.
It tastes absolutely sinful, like an expensive chocolate brownie!
But it's anything but sinful. It's delightfully healthy, loaded with
Omega 3's from the walnuts, antioxidants and flavanols from the dark
chocolate, and is best eaten straight from the spoon. And like all
our other butters- gluten free. Of course, it's also got its applications.
It's dresses up oatmeal like no other. Double chocolate brownies have
never tasted so good. Strawberries ask for it. Great on ice cream,
mixes well with trail mix. The list goes on!
*Some of the chocolate have
included organic vanilla and GMO Free soy lecithin. Let us know if
that's a problem, we'll use the others. |
For an article on mind & mood benefits with walnuts (and some recipes)
see fourweeksonlinemagazine
ORDERING OPTIONS
Walnut Butter and Walnuts are available in either organic or all natural
varieties. They may be purchased in the following ways:
Nut Butter:
* In individual 9 ounce or
16 ounce jars
Just Nuts (shelled):
* 8 ounce bag
* 16 ounce bag
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