Walnut Oil (Refined)

Walnut Oil (Refined)

Walnut Oil (Refined)

What is it:

Walnut oil is a flavorful oil made from the nuts of the walnut tree. Refined walnut oil is made by cleaning, cracking, and removing the shells of the walnuts. The kernels are then ground into a paste and pressed to extract the oil. The oil is then treated with a chemical solvent to remove any remaining impurities and filtered to remove any solids. The final step involves heating the oil to a high temperature to remove any remaining solvent and further purify the oil. This process results in a clear, light-colored oil that has a mild flavor and a higher smoke point, which makes it more stable for cooking and baking.

Rating:

Walnut oil is rich in healthy fats and antioxidants. However, refining walnut oil may destroy many of it’s beneficial nutrients. Harsh chemical solvents such as hexane may be used. It is rich in polyunsaturated fats, which can become unstable when heated and form harmful compounds called free radicals, making walnut oil not suitable for high-heat cooking. However, refined walnut oil is still a good source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid that can help reduce inflammation and improve heart health. Walnuts and walnut oil have been linked to improving cardiometabolic parameters such as triglyceride levels, blood glucose levels, endothelial function, and oxidative stress. Research has not linked refined walnut oil to any negative health effects.

Resources:

  1. Potential health benefits of walnuts (review)
  2. Anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective effects of dietary ALA (randomized, controlled, crossover study)
  3. High consumption of walnuts may be protective against breast cancer (observational study)
  4. Walnut oil has a beneficial effect on triglyceride levels (randomized, double-blind case-control study)
  5. Walnut consumption has a beneficial effect on cholesterol and triglyceride levels (systematic review, meta-analysis, and dose-response of 61 controlled intervention trials)
  6. Walnut oil reduces oxidative stress (in vitro)
  7. Walnut oil consumption improves blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetics (randomized controlled trial)
  8. Walnut oil improves parameters of cardiovascular health (randomized, controlled, crossover trial)
  9. Walnut oil has a beneficial effect on endothelial function (randomized, controlled, crossover trial)
  10. Dangers of Hexane

How we rate ingredients

Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:

Clean

It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.

Caution

It goes into one or more of the below categories

  • It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
  • It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)

We Avoid

It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)

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