Walnuts can help to control hunger pangs, reveals study

Walnuts can be really beneficial for you as a new study suggests individuals who consume walnuts, salmon and canola oil- rich in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)- on a regular basis are likely to undergo changes in hormones which can help in controlling appetite and make them feel less hungry.

According to the study, consuming a diet that is rich in PUFAs helped causing a significant decrease in fasting ghrelin- a hormone that increases hunger.

Furthermore, a diet rich in PUFA also caused a significant increase in peptide YY (PYY)-- a hormone that increases fullness.

"Appetite hormones play an important role in regulating how much we eat," said lead researcher Jamie A. Cooper, from the University of Georgia. 

"These findings tell us that eating foods rich in PUFAs, like those found in walnuts, may favorably change appetite hormones so that we can feel fuller for longer," Cooper added. 

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For the study, 26 healthy men and women of the age between 18-35 volunteered. They were given a diet rich in PUFAs for seven days or a control diet that consisted of a typical American eating pattern.

Researchers provided a PUFA-rich diet that included whole foods such as walnuts, Alaska salmon, tuna, flaxseed oil, grape seed oil, canola oil.

The control diet was comprised of 7 per cent polyunsaturated fat, 15 per cent monounsaturated fat and 13 per cent saturated fat, compared to the PUFA-rich diet which was 21 per cent polyunsaturated fat, 9 per cent monounsaturated fat, and 5 per cent saturated fat. 

Increases in PYY were experienced by the participants while fasting and after consuming a meal. Researchers told that these type of changes in hormones imply better appetite control.

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