"Lao Li, why do you look so unenergetic lately?" Uncle Zhang saw Uncle Li's haggard face and asked with concern.
Uncle Li sighed: "Alas, the problem of high blood pressure has entangled me, and the doctor asked me to take medicine, but I am worried that eating too much will not be good for my health." ”
After hearing this, Uncle Zhang recommended a method to him: "I heard that eating walnuts is good for cardiovascular health, you try to eat three small walnuts a day." From that day on, Uncle Li would eat some small walnuts after breakfast every day, and this insistence was for a whole year.
Now, his blood pressure has returned to normal levels, and his mental state is getting better and better, even Uncle Zhang is surprised: "Lao Li, you have changed too much this year!" He looks more than ten years younger! ”
1. Is it credible that walnuts are the "hair thing" of liver disease?
There is such a folk saying: walnuts are the "hair thing" of liver disease, and if you want to have a good liver, you can't eat walnuts, does this make sense?
Before revealing the mystery, let's give you a science popularization of what "hair" is.
In the concept of Chinese medicine, hair refers to foods that can induce certain diseases. For patients who already have a disease, eating hair can easily cause the recurrence or aggravation of the old disease.
However, TCM theories have not yet clarified which foods are hair products, because the concept of hair products is vague and varies from person to person.
Next, let's talk about whether walnuts are harmful to the liver.
As we all know, walnuts are a highly nutritious food, rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids, which have a variety of benefits for good health.
For most people, it's safe to eat some walnuts once in a while. Some research suggests that moderate consumption of walnuts and other nuts may help keep your liver healthy and prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
However, walnuts have a higher fat content, with about 60-70% of the ingredients being fat. Eating too much will increase the burden on the liver, especially for people with pre-existing liver problems, which can easily lead to abnormal liver function.
In fact, walnuts themselves do not hurt the liver or body, and moldy walnuts are the real "hair products" of liver disease. Moldy walnuts contain carcinogen aflatoxin, which is very toxic to the liver, if you don't know that walnuts are moldy and keep eating, it may be liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and even liver cancer.
2. Walnuts are "nutritious and good", or they can reap the three major benefits
In the treasure trove of Chinese medicine, walnuts have always been known for their many benefits. As early as ancient times, the "Compendium of Materia Medica" recorded in detail the various effects of walnuts: "nourishing qi and nourishing blood, moisturizing dryness and dissolving phlegm, benefiting life, benefiting three cokes, warming the lungs and moistening the intestines, deficiency and cold, asthma and cough, heavy pain in the waist and feet, pain in the heart and abdomen, and bloody diarrhea and intestinal wind."
The magic of walnuts is much more than that:
1. Protect the cardiovascular system
According to Cao Shuling, a national second-level public nutritionist, walnuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially high linoleic acid, which is effective in alleviating and preventing cardiovascular diseases. In addition, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) also found that walnuts helped improve heart health and reduce the risk of inflammation.
2. Reduce the risk of death
A team of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that walnut intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. People who ate more than 5 servings of walnuts per week (about 28 grams per serving) increased their life expectancy by an average of 1.3 years compared to those who did not eat walnuts.
3. Improve brain health
Eating walnuts is good for improving the activity of the adolescent brain. A study published in The Lancet EClinicalMedicine found that participants who adhered to walnut supplementation with the most interventions experienced good improvements in sustained attention and flow intelligence. Long-term consumption of 30g/d walnuts can improve neuropsychological outcomes in adolescents.
In addition to adolescents, brain function in adults can also benefit. Huo Junsheng, a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out that walnuts have a beneficial effect on the cognitive health of adults. Long-term dietary supplementation of walnuts can help maintain human cognitive function and reduce or delay cognitive impairment.
3. If you eat more walnuts, your brain will be younger
As the "brain gold" of the nut world, the nutritional value of walnuts does not need to be questioned, how to eat them to fully exert its effect?
Eat in moderation
Zhu Yi, an associate professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, suggested that you can eat 2-3 walnuts a day, which is in line with the nut intake recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society.
Combine with a variety of ingredients
Walnuts can be paired with a variety of nutritious foods, not only to create new flavors, but also to absorb more nutrients.
Professor Yang Zhimin, vice president of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, recommended matching walnuts and red dates. Red dates can increase the sweetness of walnuts, and adding some rice can increase the viscosity of walnut dew and make walnuts more delicious and nutritious.
Choose to eat before meals
It is recommended to consume walnuts in the morning or before meals, because the fat content in walnuts is high, and if you eat too much at night, you will not be able to consume calories, which can easily lead to obesity.
Fourth, the real liver disease "hair" is these, try to stay away
If we want to protect our liver, we must start from the "mouth". Here are 5 types of food to stay away from:
Broth, fish broth, chicken broth: Although these soups taste delicious, for people with liver disease, eating large amounts can increase the metabolic burden on the liver.
Ginger: The main ingredient of ginger will cause liver cell degeneration, necrosis and hepatitis cell infiltration in patients with liver disease, making liver dysfunction, and it is recommended that patients with liver ascites eat less ginger.
Processed foods: Processed foods are fortified with a variety of food additives such as preservatives, colourings, and artificial sweeteners, which can damage the liver.
Alcohol: Long-term excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main factors leading to liver disease, and it is recommended to avoid drinking it for liver health.
High-fat foods: Frequent intake of high-fat, high-cholesterol foods can make fatty liver easy to find.
In general, if you want to have a healthy liver, you have to eat healthy and eat scientifically.
Resources:
[1] "This "fruit", because of one effect, was certified as a "longevity fruit" by the nutrition magazine! 》. Phoenix Health.2024-02-18
[2] "One Meal a Day| Walnuts are in season, beaten into rice cereal, tonifying the kidneys and sweet~ Professor Yang Zhimin of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends today. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.2023-10-24
[3] "Eating Walnuts Can Live a Long Life!" Eating enough of this amount can greatly reduce the risk of death and prolong life". Popular Science China.2023-06-13
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