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Walnuts and fatty fish benefit the heart in different ways

Fish and walnuts are great food products for keeping your heart healthy, because they both contain omega-3 fatty acids. However, either of these foodstuffs could be off-limits, owing for instance to an allergy or a vegetarian lifestyle. To determine whether walnuts and fish have the same effects on heart health, researchers from the American Linda Loma University recently studied both omega-3 sources.

Lifestyle: get fit for the summer

Because the summer has begun and holidays are already booked, getting fit is on many people’s mind. As we all know, putting on a bathing suit can be pretty confronting. Getting more active is a great way to get your body into shape.

How to get started
Everyone knows that being active is good for you. How to get started is the hard part. Just start with the basics. It is recommended that we should have at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity 5 days per week. This could be accomplished by cycling, cleaning or even shopping.

If you want to lose some weight, adding two sessions of sport per week will help you to start burning those extra calories. Below are some tips to get and keep you active:

• Choose activities you really like: it will make you enjoy being active.
• Exercise with a friend: having company during a brisk walk or going together to the gym can motivate you to keep going.
• Change also little things in your daily life: go to the supermarket by bike or on foot instead of by car.
• Check our activity table to see how many calories you can burn with different activities. You will see that some activities are more effective than others.

It is not all about the calories
And here is a reality check. If you think that getting into shape is the same as just eating fewer calories you are wrong. In the long run you will have less energy. Getting the nutrients you need and balancing your energy intake are the key to a healthy body in the long term. If you need help choosing the right foods the following websites have useful tips:

www.aboutnuts.com
www.food.gov.uk
www.bhf.org.uk

In the spotlight: walnuts!

Origin
The walnut is a nut most people are familiar with. Walnuts grow nearly everywhere throughout the world in different varieties, but they all belong to the same family. The most important producing countries are France, India and the US (California), with the latter being by far the most important supplier of walnuts in the shell.

Walnut tree
The walnut tree can reach a height of 30 meters. The green fruit hanging from the tree has the same color as the leaf. When the fruit is ripe, the husk cracks open and the walnut itself becomes visible. Once the nut has been removed from the tree it is washed and dried. Drying is an important process and must be carried out very precisely, since the drying process determines how long the nut can be stored. After drying, the nut is sorted according to size, packaged and stored in a refrigerated warehouse.

Nutritional value
Walnuts are known for their high omega-3 fatty acid content (see table). Omega fatty acids are essential fatty acids that must be obtained from the diet, since the body cannot produce them itself. The immune system and the hormonal system are partially dependent on these fatty acids. In addition, the blood vessels and the nervous system cannot function well without these essential fatty acids.

Cooking with nuts: Waldorf salad

Starter

4 servings

10 min

Preparation

• Make a dressing by lightly beating the mayonnaise with the orange juice and the mustard; add a little water if the mayonnaise continues to be too thick.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Wash the celeriac and cut into strips. Blanch the strips of celeriac for approx. 3 minutes.
• Wash the celery, saving the leaves. Slice the stalks into thin slices.
• Wash the apples and cut into quarters.
• Serve the salad onto plates or into glasses, pour the dressing over the salad and garnish with the raisins, walnuts and celery leaves.

More information on walnuts >

Starter – Serves 4
• 6 tbsp mayonnaise
• juice of ½ an orange
• 1 tbsp mustard
• freshly ground salt and pepper
• 1 root of celeriac
• ½ a head of celery
• 2 apples
• 50 g raisins
• 75 g walnuts

Nutritional values

Imprint

Editorial staff
Intersnack Group, Düsseldorf
Schuttelaar & Partners, The Hague

Editorial Board
Schuttelaar & Partners, The Hague

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