The effort to achieve healthy arteries has to be the cornerstone of any heart healthy plan. The reason you eat well, exercise, control your blood pressure, and manage your stress, is so that the heart can effectively pump blood through healthy arteries.

What more can you do? According to this article from RealAge, http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/7217 , walnuts can make a difference in creating a healthier heart.

How many walnuts? Just 8-13 a day for 4 weeks.

Walnuts are rich in cholesterol-lowering alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) as well as antioxidants, a heart-healthy form of vitamin E, and L-arginine -- an amino acid that helps lower blood pressure. So it makes sense that when people with moderately high cholesterol eat a daily helping of the nuts, good things happen. And it did: In one study, not only did their blood vessels open wide, but also their total cholesterol fell and their bad LDL cholesterol dropped 6 percent!

Go online to read more details on this study and other links for delicious walnut recipes and tips on how to roast nuts.