Benefits of Walnuts According to Ayurveda

 

Walnuts according to Ayurveda                                                

In Ayurveda, walnuts carry their weight! To say that walnuts are a nutritious food is a bit of an understatement. 

If you are new to Ayurveda, it is the ancient old medicine practices originating from India, and along with its Sister Science, Yoga, Ayurveda plays an important role when it comes to governing your health.  I will be doing more posts on Ayurveda, but for this series I wanted to share with you all my personal knowledge and experiences of Ayurveda while I lived in India. 

It changed my health &  lifestyle dramatically just by understanding more about my own body and what foods suited my digestive system. I also studied the therapy and logistics of what Ayurveda is while living there, and I  honestly was very close to enrolling to become an Ayurveda Doctor. 

Life took me in another direction though,Y and to be fair it would have taken me 6 years to complete. Ironically though, my India journey was around 6 years. Do I regret not doing it? NO, because in that 6 years of living in India, it taught me so many things that I  may not have experienced if I was focused on one thing.

You can see in my content, how varied my knowledge is, and I am grateful for the experiences I've been dealt, and that is why I am here to share and help you with your own journey.                                                                                                                                                                                 

Now lets get back to those walnuts 

Right, now that we got a brief understanding of my knowledge of Ayurveda, lets get to the part where I explain walnuts and their nutritional value to you , and why they are included in my introduction to Ayurveda? 

I should mention walnuts provide healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals — and that’s just the beginning of how they may support your health.   Walnuts are particularly supportive for men's reproductive health , and a good source of protein.  The most interesting fact about them is that they are a brain food! What's that? Feeding our brain?  Why would we need to do that?

Walnuts even look like a brain!  

Have you ever noticed that a walnut looks like the shape of a brain, especially when its in its shell?  Most commonly known for this fact, but they actually do help brain functions. Do you know of other foods that look like the body organ it benefits? There are actually many, but more on that later. Sorry, there is just so much to talk about when it comes to Ayurveda, and food, that I keep getting off track! Again back to the walnuts. 

Well, as you may already be aware, walnuts are indeed a superfood for the brain. It is recommended to eat 3-4 a day and less in summer, due to them raising your body heat, which we definitely don't need in those hotter months, right? 

Let's delve a little deeper                                

The walnut is an essential nut which not only acts as a memory enhancer, but also has various medicinal values and properties.  Walnuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids which are essential good fats that help reduce the risk of heart diseases. Walnuts are also considered as a super food for brain health due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 

 In particular walnuts might even help improve fertility in men. It is known that to enhance the quality and quantity of sperm due to the presence of certain important fatty acids and nutrients. Move over Viagra!

The oil extracted from Walnuts has various benefits that women also can appreciate. Walnut oil is widely used in the cosmetic industry, and can prevent acne, while managing dry skin and preventing wrinkles, giving your skin a youthful glow.

Aside from all that though, lets take a look at how Ayurveda recognizes walnuts. 

Walnuts help to reduce toxins

In Ayurveda there are two main things we look at when there is an imbalance, Ama (toxic remains in the body due to improper digestion), and Agni (digestive fire), similar to Qi in Chinese Medicine. We must find out what the Ama imbalance is and work from there. Walnuts, however, help to heat the digestive fire, which in turn helps to reduce the toxins in the body.   According to Ayurveda, and because of walnuts being able to heat the body, a regular intake of walnuts reduces those toxins, which means they are beneficial for reducing cholesterol, and also diabetes.  

Without going into Ayurveda too deeply,  its mostly important to understand that the Ayurveda view is that diabetes is due to an aggravation of impaired digestion. This leads to an accumulation of toxic remains in the body due to improper digestion. The toxins centre around the pancreatic cells and impair the function of insulin. With regular intake of walnuts, it can correct the  impaired digestion and reduce Ama (toxins). This is due its the heating properties of walnuts, which balance the body. 

A daily intake of walnuts can be beneficial for so many reasons, however, they should be eaten only if your own body needs them.  What I mean by this is that while it is okay to consume any food, if you have adverse reactions to certain foods, you should take note of your body's reaction telling you that it is not good for your digestion, and eliminate them from your diet. 

Not every 'body' is the same   

We have lost touch with what food is for, and where it comes from, and the connection food has to our health. By listening to your body and what it needs, does take time. However, if you really accept that we do have this relationship with food and health, it will become easier and you'll be surprised how much it helps your overall longevity and energy levels. 

Its very important to understand that because walnuts heat the body, that it would be advised to not eat them when you have diarrhea. In Ayurveda we are also aware that Walnuts have sweet and heavy properties, and therefore if you are overweight, they may increase weight gain due to these properties.