Freshly cracked walnut kernels

Freshly cracked walnut kernels

　　Freshly cracked walnut kernels are a specialty of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. Walnuts, also known as Persian walnuts, can be found almost everywhere in the world, mainly distributed across the Americas, Europe, and many parts of Asia. In terms of production, China ranks second only to the United States. Internationally, walnuts are known as “powerhouse food,” “nutrition-rich,” and “brain-boosting fruit.” Domestically, they are honored with titles such as “longevity seed,” “long life fruit,” and “treasure for health.” Their remarkable brain-boosting effects and rich nutritional value have been increasingly recognized and valued.

　　Walnuts have high medicinal value and are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. According to traditional Chinese medicine, walnuts are warm in nature, sweet in taste, and non-toxic, offering benefits such as strengthening the stomach, enriching the blood, moistening the lungs, and nourishing the spirit. The “Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica” classifies walnuts as a top-grade tonic that helps lighten the body, boost energy, and prolong life when taken regularly. Meng Shen from the Tang Dynasty, in his book “Dietary Materia Medica,” noted that eating walnut kernels can stimulate appetite, improve blood circulation, and make the flesh and skin finer. Liu Han and others in the Song Dynasty, in their book “Kaibao Materia Medica,” recorded that walnut kernels “make one robust and strong, moisturize the skin, darken hair, and promote urination when consumed frequently, and also help eliminate piles.” Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty, in his book “Compendium of Materia Medica,” documented that

　　walnut kernels have the effects of “invigorating qi and nourishing blood, moisturizing dryness and resolving phlegm, benefiting the life gate, regulating the triple burner, warming the lungs and moisturizing the intestines, treating wheezing and coughs due to deficiency-cold, soreness and heaviness in the lower back and legs, abdominal and heart pain, bloody dysentery, and intestinal wind.” Modern medical research indicates that the phospholipids in walnuts have a positive effect on the health of brain nerves. Walnut oil contains unsaturated fatty acids, which help prevent arteriosclerosis.

　　Walnut kernels are rich in essential trace elements for the human body such as zinc, manganese, and chromium. The levels of zinc and manganese in the human body tend to decline with aging, while chromium aids in glucose utilization, cholesterol metabolism, and cardiovascular protection. The cough-suppressing and asthma-relieving effects of walnut kernels are also quite evident, making them highly effective for patients with chronic bronchitis and asthma during winter. It is clear that regular consumption of walnuts not only strengthens the body but also combats aging. Some people often take tonics, but actually, eating just a few walnuts every morning and evening can bring great benefits—often even better than taking supplements. Walnuts are an excellent food therapy ingredient.

　　Whether used in medicinal combinations, eaten raw, boiled, coated in sugar, or cooked in dishes, walnuts offer great benefits such as enriching blood and qi, nourishing kidney and essence, relieving cough and asthma, moisturizing dryness, and improving bowel movements. There are many ways to eat walnuts. Boiling walnuts with an appropriate amount of salted water, then drinking the water and eating the residue can treat symptoms such as kidney-deficiency lower back pain, nocturnal emission, impotence, forgetfulness, tinnitus, and frequent urination. Cooking walnuts together with coix seed, chestnuts, and similar ingredients into porridge can help treat frequent urination, nocturnal emission, loose stools, and early-morning diarrhea. Making sugar-coated snacks with walnuts, sesame, and lotus seeds can nourish the heart and brain and also help treat night sweats. Eating raw walnuts along with longan flesh and hawthorn can improve heart function. Walnuts are also widely used in treating conditions such as neurasthenia, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, emphysema, and stomachache.