Black vs. English Walnuts

The best way to keep and consume walnut oil is within the walnut itself. But, which is better for cardiovascular disease protection? Black walnuts, or English, (also known as common walnuts)?

Regular “English walnuts have been shown to decrease cardiovascular disease risk; however, black walnuts do not appear to have not been studied for their cardioprotective” benefits—until now. Maybe black are even better? Who do you think won the contest? Three choices: black best; English best; or the same.

I would have guessed black, just based on their rich flavor and color. But, I would have been wrong. English best, and I’ll show you why.

They both tended to lower cholesterol. But, when participants were given a meal containing “a sandwich with…salami and…cheese on…white bread smeared with” two spoonfuls of butter along with…yogurt”—and then a big handful of black or English walnuts, something very different happened.

When we whack our arteries with that kind of load of saturated animal fat, our blood vessels immediately, within hours, become inflamed and stiff. You eat English walnuts with the salami sandwich, though, and they’re so packed with anti-inflammatory goodness that you significantly lessen the impact.

“Black walnuts, however, did not improve endothelial function [the cells of the arterial lining], which can be explained by nutritional differences between the nuts. English walnuts [for example] have nearly 10 times as much antioxidant capacity as black.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Kerry Skinner.

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