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Known as a brain superfood, walnut butter is as delicious as it is good for you. Brimming with antioxidants and omega-3s, the health benefits of walnut butter are abundant, for both men and women. It’s also an excellent beauty aid and can pair well with a variety of meals. Benefits of Walnut Butter From tasty desserts to anti-aging properties, here are 12 benefits of walnut butter: Health Benefits 1. Prevent Heart Disease, High Cholesterol, and More One of the benefits of walnut butter is its ability to fortify and diversify your intestinal bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for a variety of tasks, such as protecting your gut lining, which in turn can reduce your cholesterol and blood pressure. Walnut butter is also known for its ability to reduce your risk for strokes and heart attacks by nearly 20%. This reduction is due to walnut butter’s omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, which plays a significant role in reducing inflammation. 2. Combat Pre-Existing Damage with Antioxidants Among popular nut butters, walnut butter has the second highest level of antioxidants. These antioxidants can fight and prevent damage caused by bad, or LDL, cholesterol. They also further help your heart stay healthy by fending off conditions such as atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries. 3. Reduce Risk of Certain Cancers Recent studies suggest that walnut butter might play a role in preventing certain cancers, including breast and prostate cancer. Walnuts are a great source of ellagitannins, a type of polyphenol that can be converted into the compound urolithin. This compound can block hormone receptors, thereby reducing the risk of hormonal cancers. It also provides further anti-inflammatory protections that aid gut health and prevent colorectal cancer. 4. Improve Memory Walnuts are known for aiding brain health. So, it’s unsurprising that one of the benefits of walnut butter lies in its ability to improve cognitive abilities. More specifically, walnut butter can enhance verbal reasoning, strengthen learning skills, and even improve memory. Along with its previously mentioned omega-3s, walnut butter contains a variety of vitamins and nutrients that all support brain health, including vitamin E, melatonin, and folate. Through this combination, walnut butter doesn’t just improve brain function, but it also prevents decline. In fact, studies have shown that consuming walnut butter can delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. 5. Benefits for Men’s Health Walnut butter can play a significant role in men’s health, mostly due to its amino acid L-arginine. This amino acid helps with blood flow, which can improve erectile dysfunction. Certain studies have also shown a correlation between eating walnut butter and improved male fertility. 6. Benefits for Women’s Health Along with aiding men’s health, walnut butter can provide multiple health benefits for women. Not only can its omega-3s help prevent infertility, but for pregnant women, omega-3s severely reduce the risk of premature birth and greatly influence infant brain development. They also decrease several side-effects of menopause and post-partum, including everything from hot flashes to mood swings. Beauty and Wellness 7. Combat Effects of Aging As previously mentioned, walnut butter contains large amounts of L-arginine. This amino acid has more anti-aging properties than any pharmaceutical product currently on the market. L-arginine is also responsible for keeping your immune system healthy, which already plays a role in fighting aging. Plus, due to L-arginine’s ability to increase protein stores, it’s an essential building block in creating and maintaining muscle mass. 8. Safely Lose Weight Even though it’s high in calories, one of the benefits of walnut butter is that not all of its calories are absorbed. This means that you can lose more weight eating walnut butter than a meal with the same amount of calories. Walnut butter also activates the insula, a part of the brain that controls how hungry or full you feel. Thus, eating walnut butter will cause you to feel fuller more quickly, which means you’ll be less likely to overeat. 9. Restore and Replenish Your Skin Walnut butter can serve as a moisturizer for damaged and sensitive skin. Its omega-3s have regenerative properties, and its antioxidants offer natural protection and restoration for dry, irritated, and even burnt skin. For this reason, you can also use walnut butter in several other forms, such as lotions, soaps, and creams. Delicious Recipes 10. Sweet Substitute for Baking Nuts are a common ingredient in baking, and they’re found in a variety of sweet desserts. So, it’s of little surprise that walnut butter can be used in baking, too. One of the benefits of walnut butter is its versatility—you can use it in cookies, blend it into delicious fudge bars, or even spread it on cakes for a tasty frosting. And if you want something unique, try these jelly walnut butter bars or these gluten-free shortbread bars. 11. Filling, Healthy Breakfasts Oatmeal and nut butter is always a good mix, especially when your nut butter is walnut butter. You can easily incorporate this nut butter into other breakfast recipes, too, such as these maple banana scones or this portable, healthy granola. 12. Delicious Options for Lunch and Dinner If you want to add walnut butter to your lunch or dinner, this Thai salad is a good place to start. Just remember to leave out the honey or substitute in agave. Speaking of Thai food, this Pad Thai is already vegan and gluten-free. Plus, there are other noodle dishes that pair especially well with walnut butter. Walnut butter also makes for a good filling, as you can see from these stuffed bell peppers. And for something quick and simple, these grilled apple and walnut butter sandwiches are a must. You can also use it as a mix-in to make hummus even tastier or smear it on a tortilla for this modified Waldorf wrap. Conclusion The benefits of walnut butter are wide and varied. It may help in fighting cancer and preventing aging while simultaneously helping you lose weight. Walnut butter also can be used as an ingredient in multiple meals and snacks, from cookies to oatmeal and salads. In short, this brain superfood has something to offer everyone in terms of taste, health, and overall wellness.