Real butter, high-quality vanilla, and grass-fed beef are quality ingredients that make a recipe truly delicious. After all, recipes are only as good as the ingredients used. However, finding quality ingredients, especially nuts, can be challenging.
History of Walnuts
Many people are looking for walnuts in bulk. Walnuts were the first tree nut humans ate and may have originated in ancient Persia ten thousand years ago. People traded them as an important crop and food along the Silk Road. Today, California is the leading producer of walnuts.
Walnuts are round, single-seeded stone fruits of the walnut tree. They are often used for food once they are fully ripe. Brown, wrinkly walnut shells grow inside green husks. While ripening, the husk will become brittle and break apart. The shell encloses the meat of the nut in two segments. These seed kernels are available as shelled walnuts.
Uses for Walnuts
Walnuts are ideal for adding to sweet treats and savory dishes. People can sprinkle them on ice cream or pancakes as a delicious topping. Many people enjoy adding walnuts to oatmeal or yogurt. Walnuts go well on salads and in dips or sauces. They can be chopped and used in whole-grain bread and scones. Some people enjoy crushing them to use as a coating on fish or chicken. They are delicious when roasted and added to trail mix.
Health Benefits of Walnuts
Many people order walnuts in bulk because of their amazing health benefits. Walnuts contain higher antioxidant activity than any other common nut. This activity comes from vitamin E, polyphenols, and melatonin. Some studies show that adults who eat a walnut-rich diet prevent oxidative damage of bad LDL cholesterol.
Walnuts also contain a high amount of omega-e fat. Omega-e fats are essential for lowering the risk of heart disease. Eating walnuts as a regular part of a diet can help reduce the chances of heart disease. The polyphenols in walnuts help fight stress and inflammation in the body. Inflammation is one of the primary causes of many chronic diseases.
Eating walnuts promotes a healthy gut. One study shows that adults who ate 1.5 ounces of walnuts every day for eight weeks had higher amounts of beneficial bacteria in their gut than those who did not.
Adults who eat walnuts may reduce their risks of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Walnuts are rich in polyphenol ellagitannins that gut microbes convert into urolithins. Urolithins have anti-inflammatory properties in the gut, which can help prevent colorectal cancer. Urolithins also have hormone-like properties that block hormone receptors, reducing the risk of breast and prostate cancers.
Eating walnuts may also help control a person’s appetite. One study showed that people drinking a smoothie with 1.76 ounces of walnuts daily for five days were less hungry than those who drank a placebo drink. Brain scans also showed that these adults had increased activation in their brain in an area that helped them resist temping foods such as cake and French fries.
There are many reasons to buy and eat walnuts, but they can be expensive at the local grocery store. Buying walnuts in bulk can help consumers save money and have walnuts on hand when they need and want them the most.