Are walnuts an alkaline food or an acidic food?

Walnuts are a very nutritious fruit, also known as Persian walnut, Qiang walnut, etc., and can be counted as a type of fruit. They can protect heart function, so they are a favorite food of many elderly people. In fact, walnuts have many benefits, and not only elderly people eat them; young and middle-aged people who eat them enjoy just as many benefits. Now let us take a look together at whether walnuts are an alkaline food!

Are walnuts an alkaline food?

Walnuts are an alkaline food. Walnuts belong to the nut category, and nuts are all alkaline foods. In fact, the acidity or alkalinity of a food has nothing to do with its own pH value (a food that tastes sour is not necessarily an acidic food). It is mainly defined by whether the food, after digestion, absorption and metabolism, finally becomes an acidic or alkaline substance in the human body. Those that produce acidic substances are called acidic foods, such as animal organs, muscle, and plant seeds; those that produce alkaline substances are called alkaline foods, such as vegetables, melons and beans, tea, and so on.

Efficacy and effects of walnuts

1. Breaking blood and removing stasis: Walnuts can be used for conditions such as blood-stagnation amenorrhea, blood-stasis abdominal pain, blood accumulation and mania, and traumatic stasis.

2. Moistening dryness and lubricating the intestines: Walnuts can be used for difficult bowel movements due to intestinal dryness and constipation. This product is bitter, purgative and dissipates stasis, enters the blood aspect of the liver meridian, and has a relatively strong effect of invigorating blood and regulating menstruation, removing stasis and generating new blood, making it suitable for those with relatively severe blood-aspect stasis. In addition, it also has the effects of lubricating the intestines and relieving cough.

3. Tonifying deficiency and strengthening the body: Walnuts are rich in walnut oil. A mixed-fat diet containing walnut oil can increase body weight and serum albumin, while the rise in blood cholesterol levels is relatively slow. Therefore, walnuts are a rare tonic among high-fat substances.

4. Nourishing the skin: The oil rich in walnut kernels helps moisturize the skin and maintain the body's vitality.

5. Preventing and fighting cancer: The effective components of walnuts have an inhibitory effect on S37 tumors in mice. Walnut branches have a certain inhibitory effect on various tumors such as esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, and lymphosarcoma. In addition, walnuts also have effects such as relieving pain, increasing white blood cells and protecting the liver in cancer patients.

6. Nourishing the brain and improving intelligence: Children who often eat fish and nuts achieve good grades. The higher the level of omega-3 fatty acids (especially DHA) in children's blood, the better their reading ability and memory, and the lower the probability of behavioral problems. The main food sources of omega-3 fatty acids include deep-sea fatty fish such as sardines, mackerel, salmon and tuna, as well as flaxseed and various nuts such as walnuts.

What are the common alkaline foods?

1. Vegetables

① Cold-natured alkaline foods: water shield, purslane, houttuynia (fish mint), water spinach, tomato, chayote, zucchini, bottle gourd, calabash, melon (oriental melon), Hami melon, watermelon, snake melon, bamboo shoots, kelp.

② Cool-natured alkaline foods: lotus root, konjac, arrowhead, kudzu root, beet (purple beet), radish, kohlrabi, celery, amaranth, eggplant, lettuce (celtuce), wild rice stem, bitter melon, rapeseed, spinach, mushroom, lettuce, cauliflower, enoki mushroom, winter melon, cucumber, loofah.

③ Neutral-natured alkaline foods: lily, carrot, rutabaga, garland chrysanthemum, schizonepeta, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, lion's mane mushroom, wood ear mushroom, shepherd's purse, silver ear fungus, sweet potato, potato, taro.

④ Warm-natured alkaline foods: turnip, Chinese yam, onion, Chinese onion (wild garlic), Chinese toon, Chinese chives, potherb mustard, coriander, bell pepper, pumpkin, ginger, scallion.

⑤ Hot-natured alkaline foods: garlic, chili pepper, pepper.

2. Edible medicinal herbs

① Cold-natured alkaline foods: Dendrobium, reed root.

② Cool-natured alkaline foods: chrysanthemum, mint, rehmannia, white peony, American ginseng, sand ginseng, cassia seed.

③ Neutral-natured alkaline foods: polygonatum, gastrodia, codonopsis, poria, licorice.

④ Warm-natured alkaline foods: fleeceflower root, amomum, cordyceps, osmanthus, ligusticum, astragalus, ginseng, angelica, cistanche, eucommia, atractylodes.

⑤ Hot-natured alkaline foods: cinnamon.

3. Fruits

① Cold-natured alkaline foods: kiwi fruit, persimmon, mulberry, fig, sugarcane, banana, water chestnut.

② Cool-natured alkaline foods: pear, loquat, orange, mandarin, mango, monk fruit, apple.

③ Neutral-natured alkaline foods: grape, hawthorn, pomegranate, papaya, longan, betel nut, tangerine, lychee, lemon.

④ Hot-natured alkaline foods: peach, cherry.

4. Nuts

① Neutral-natured alkaline foods: soybean (yellow soybean).

② Warm-natured alkaline foods: chestnut, almond.

5. Beverages

① Cool-natured alkaline foods: tea leaves

② Neutral-natured alkaline foods: wine, soy milk, milk, honey.

③ Warm-natured alkaline foods: coffee.

6. Processed products

① Cold-natured alkaline foods: table salt.

② Warm-natured alkaline foods: vinegar.

③ Hot-natured alkaline foods: dietary alkali.