Eating Walnuts and Cognitive Function Part 2

Carol Sloan is the Health Research Director of the California Walnut Board and Commission. She said it wasn't a big study, but it did show some trends.

“It looked at subjects within this study that took a battery of tests. And it's a very small amount of time to look----2014, through 2016. So it wasn't really a long trajectory, you will,” said Sloan. “A lot of other epidemiological studies look over many decades. So it's a short snapshot in time. And perhaps, maybe not long enough to show any cognitive function down the road,” she noted.

But again, Sloan said there were some trends that are worth noting.

“The results did not suggest that Walnut consumption can be promoted as a means of preventing cognitive decline in older adults. The association between cognitive function and eating walnuts at baseline remained meaningful,” Sloan explained.

“When you look at the subjects that are in epidemiological studies, these are self report and the people are taking a food frequency questionnaire. You have to take into consideration variables, such as socioeconomic status, educational status, and other health factors,” noted Sloan. “The results are encouraging to me. I think it will cause more discussion of eating whole food, such as walnuts as part of a healthy eating pattern down the road.”

Sloan said at the Walnut commission has worked on cognitive function and Walnut consumption for decades.