November marks the culmination of the walnut harvest in California. It’s also prime season to consume the fibrous treat, preferably while sitting in front of your TV watching “The Nutcracker.” Take our quiz:
1. Nutritionists say the proper serving size for chopped (or shelled) walnuts is 1 ounce, which is 183 calories. How many shelled walnut halves constitute an ounce?
a) 7
b) 14
c) 21
d) 28
2. Most people overindulge once they start eating walnuts. Be careful. Eating a cup of chopped walnuts is akin to eating what?
a) 1 1/4 McDonald’s Big Macs
b) 3 slices of cheesecake
c) 2 KFC extra-crispy thighs
d) any of the above
3.A cup of walnuts, however, does contain 31 percent of the daily value for fiber. That high-fiber content leads to a feeling of fullness, researchers say, and so it helps with weight loss. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, nut eaters were how much more likely to lose weight and stick to a diet than non-nut eaters?
a) three times
b) twice
c) four times
d) not likely
4. The Harvard study also found that women who ate five or more servings of walnuts per week were 30 percent less likely to develop what?
a) gout
b) Type 2 diabetes
c) heart disease
d) shingles
5. One cup of chopped walnuts contains 200 percent of the daily value of manganese. What benefits does manganese provide?
a) normalizes blood sugar levels
b) helps the thyroid gland function properly
c) linked to better bone health
d) all of the above
ANSWERS: 1: b; 2: d (1 cup of walnuts: 765 calories); 3: a; 4: b; 5: d
Sources: Harvard School of Public Health; University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension;
