Walnut Kernels Manufacturing Basics

Understanding walnuts’ engineering properties is important to facilitate and improve the design of processing equipment as well as harvesting, packaging and storage procedures and facilities.

During the process of extracting of the oil from the walnuts and its derivatives, the kernels undergo a series of unit operations.

At each step, various types of cleaning, grading, separation and oil-extraction equipment operate on the basis of the walnuts’ mechanical properties.

Therefore, detailed findings reported in some studies provide useful data to be used by engineers in the design of suitable walnut processing machines, thus enhancing process and quality control.

More about benefits of Walnuts in Diabetes

Nuts are recognized as having the potential to improve the blood lipid profile and, in cohort studies, nut consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Randomized controlled trials of patients with type 2 diabetes have confirmed the beneficial effects of walnut kernels on blood lipids also seen in nondiabetic subjects, but the trials have not reported improvement in A1c or other glycated proteins. A study that has addressed this issue directly is the evaluation of this type of nuts consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes is the Nurses Health Study. According to it, consumption was inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes after adjustment for age, BMI, physical activity and alcohol and total energy intake, and mostly - diabetes.

Nuts for your Healthy Heart

It's a well known fact that all nuts contain heart-healthy omega-3 fats. Concretely the walnuts (14 halves contain 185 calories, 18 grams fat, 4 grams protein) have high amounts of alpha linoleic acid.

According to many recent scientific studies, ALA may help heart arrhythmias, and one more important fact - walnuts are as effective as olive oil at reducing inflammation and oxidation in the arteries after having a fatty meal. Eating about eight walnuts a day is recommended for optimal protection of your heart.