A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that daily walnut consumption was associated with a more favorable dietary inflammatory index (DII) score among healthy older adults. The analysis used data from 319 participants in the Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) randomized controlled trial.
Participants were randomly assigned to either a walnut-supplemented diet, including 30-60 g of walnuts daily, or a control diet that excluded walnuts and limited other nut consumption to fewer than two servings per week. Over the two-year study period, the walnut group had a significantly lower mean DII score than the control group (-0.025 versus 0.615; p<0.01), indicating a lower estimated inflammatory potential of their diets.
The authors concluded that incorporating walnuts into the habitual diet was associated with a more favorable dietary inflammatory profile. The findings provide further evidence on the potential nutritional benefits of walnuts.
This work was supported by a grant from the California Walnut Commission.
Reference: Stern, L. H., Brisco, J., Jaceldo-Siegl, K., Shavlik, D., Sabate, J., Serra-Mir, M., Cofán, M., Sala-Vila, A., Ros, E., Wirth, M. D., Hebert, J. R., & Rajaram, S. (2026). The Dietary Inflammatory Index is Lower Among Healthy Older Adults Consuming a Walnut-Supplemented Diet. Ancillary Results from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 156835. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2026.156835
