Yep, it could be that simple. When people in one study replaced some of the already good monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil and corn oil) in their diets with eight to 13 walnuts a day (they contain omega-3 fats), their blood vessels expanded after just a few weeks, allowing better blood flow.
That's not all that our favorite nuts can do. In another study, raising the walnut ante to an ounce and a half -- that's about 21 walnut halves -- six days a week reduced lousy LDL cholesterol by nearly 20 percent. That's a big deal that translates into slightly more than an 18 percent decrease in your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Traditional thinking is that it's the omega-3 fatty acids in these nuts that have been credited with these heart and artery benefits (they have brain, eye and joint benefits as well). That's still true, but there may be something extra in walnuts that makes LDL drop even more than expected from its omega-3s alone.
But whatever it is that's doing the magic, the point is the same: To fit the fat from walnuts into your diet, take some of the other fat out. Not hard to do; the flavor and crunch of these nuts adds enough to your foods -- be it a main course, salad or side dish -- that you won't miss the fat that was there before.
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The YOU Docs
Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D.-- are authors of "YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty
". To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.