Considered one of the ultimate brain foods, walnuts are fast becoming the new hero of superfoods. And it’s little wonder that the nut itself – that bears the same shape as the human brain – could offer so much sustenance to our cerebral matter. The human brain is made up of about 60 per cent of what is called structural fat and requires high-quality fats like omega-3s to function properly and to keep the brain fluid and flexible. Enter the humble walnut; they are loaded with omega-3s, which make them the ultimate brain food.
The health and nutritional benefits of walnuts when consumed in whole form – including the skin – are endless. By eating just 25 grams of walnuts, you have consumed 94.5 per cent of your daily required intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Not only will this aid in general cognitive function but will decrease depression, so making walnuts part of your daily diet in moderation can boost your spirts as well as your IQ. Omega-3 levels also make your skin feel radiant, so you can use walnuts as part of a daily beauty regime by adding some finely ground walnuts to a cup of yoghurt for a daily exfoliating scrub.
They can also help regulate your sleep and assist you in getting a good night’s sleep as consumption of walnuts increases the melatonin levels in your body – one of the body’s sleep regulating hormones. Walnuts also contain manganese, copper, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, and calcium – all nutrients which are important to good health, and walnuts, like most nuts, can help lower cholesterol and improve heart health when eaten as part of a balanced diet. Given the wide variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients found in walnuts, it’s not surprising to see research on this tree nut showing measurable anti-cancer benefits. In fact, walnuts have the highest antioxidant activity of all nuts. And they can also benefit sufferers of Type 2 diabetes. Certainly nuts are high in calories, but they have extraordinary health benefits and are an important addition to your diet.
Although walnuts are generally harvested in autumn in Australia, in Greece they are harvested in December, making them a common feature on the Christmas table. Walnuts are a delicious way to add extra nutrition, flavour and crunch to a meal. They can be used in sweet and savoury dishes and are commonly used in sweets in the Greek cuisine – such as karidopita (walnut cake) and glyko tou koutaliou (walnut spoon sweet). Walnuts can take an ordinary salad to another level by either adding an extra crunch by mixing in the nut itself or by crushing walnuts in a mortar and pestle and adding it into the salad dressing. Think Waldorf salad with your very own Greek twist. An unpretentious breakfast of yoghurt can also be enhanced with crushed walnuts and maple syrup – the two alone are a taste match made in heaven. You can add crushed or whole walnuts to roast vegetables to give a nutty texture, and make a perfect partner to roast meats, especially crushed in stuffing. In the Mediterranean, crushed walnuts are used in pastas, and in some cases pesto as a replacement for pine nuts.
When purchasing whole walnuts that have not been shelled choose those that feel heavy for their size. Their shells should not be cracked, pierced or stained, as this could lead to moulding of the nutmeat.
In Greek mythology, the walnut appears in the story of Carya, with whom the god Dionysus fell in love. Carya was a daughter of the Laconian king Dion and Amphithea, daughter of Pronax. When visiting King Dion, the god Dionysus fell in love with Carya and secretly lay with her. After falling in love with her, he soon returned. Carya’s sisters tried to keep the god from her, but this was a violation against the gods, so he struck both her sisters with madness. They went to Mt Tagyetus and became rocks and Carya was turned into a walnut tree. The goddess Artemis carried the news to Carya’s father and commanded that a temple be built in her memory. Its columns, sculpted in wood in the form of young women, were called catyatides, or nymphs of the walnut tree – so the tree furnished the image for a famous Greek architectural form.