During Nutrition Month in March, consumers and health professionals were encouraged to consume walnuts for their excellent source of plant-based omega-3 ALA (alpha-linolenic acid, 2.5 g/oz).1 Omega-3 is an essential nutrient for optimal health, though consumer data reveals about half of walnut users don’t know which nuts contain omega-3s.
Therefore, the California Walnut Commission leveraged walnuts’ omega-3 inclusion to promote it in marketing and educational activities.
- Global “Power of 3” Campaign: The third annual “Power of 3” global marketing campaign launched with the goal of increasing awareness about the benefits of omega-3s and to highlight how walnuts are an excellent source of ALA.1 The campaign motivates consumers around the globe to include a handful of walnuts in their daily meals and snacks. Running simultaneously in multiple continents, the program featured a press release, retail promotions, advertising, plant-forward recipes, tips and videos for consumers to create dining experiences featuring California walnuts right at home.
- Nutrition News Update Conference: Attended by an influential audience of over 30 health and nutrition media, many of which were Registered Dietitians, renowned nutrition expert Dr. Wendy Bazilian presented the latest scientific evidence on plant-based omega-3 ALA. California walnuts were highlighted as accessible, versatile and the only tree nut to contain a significant amount of ALA, which research indicates may play a role in heart health, brain health and healthy aging.2-8 Coverage will come through over the coming months; however, to date we’ve seen social media posts by event attendees and an article in EatingWell.
- Oldways Health Professional Webinar: An educational webinar attended live by 851 health professionals, and viewed an additional 700 times via the recording, shared the latest research supporting ALA consumption from Gretchen Vannice, MS, RDN, global expert in omega-3 fatty acid nutrition. The webinar also showed how to apply research and develop engaging education content from seasoned nutrition entrepreneurs Cara Harbstreet, MS, RDN, LD, of Street Smart Nutrition and Megan Boitano, MS, RDN, LDN, founder of RD2RD.
- ALA Literature Review: Research continues to explore the benefits of essential plant-based omega-3 ALA, including an exciting new narrative review published in Advances in Nutrition that found that food sources high in ALA, such as walnuts, should be part of a heart-healthy eating pattern.3 To drive awareness and garner media coverage, a release was distributed by Penn State University and shared with targeted health and nutrition media contributing to the widespread pickup of this research. To date, outreach has generated articles in highly read media outlets like MSN.com, Yahoo Life, Medium, Eat This, Not That!, The Beet, Plant Based News and more.
- ALA Blog on Walnuts.org: Inspiring visitors to visit walnuts.org to learn about the ALA benefits of walnuts, the article “The Science Behind Plant-Based Omega-3 ALA” includes the latest research and was shared across digital platforms, including the consumer e-newsletter and health professional advertising materials, to maximize reach.
- Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group Newsletter: Reaching an influential group of nutrition and culinary leaders in the dietetics profession, a newsletter and advertisement focused on harnessing the power of omega-3 ALA featuring a California walnut plant-forward dish.
The California Walnut Commission is continuing momentum and keeping the ALA benefits of walnuts top of mind for consumers to Do More with Walnuts throughout the year.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts offers 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid – the plant-based omega-3.
Sala-Vila A, Fleming J, Kris-Etherton P, Ros E. Impact of alpha-linolenic acid, the vegetable omega-3 fatty acid, on cardiovascular disease and cognition. Advances in Nutrition. doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmac016.
Sala-Vila A, Valls-Pedret C, Rajaram S, et al. Effect of a 2-year diet intervention with walnuts on cognitive decline. The Walnuts And Healthy Aging (WAHA) study: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nut. 2020;111(3):590–600.
Zhao G, Etherton TD, Martin KR, West SG, Gillies PJ, Kris-Etherton PM. Dietary alpha-linolenic acid reduces inflammatory and lipid cardiovascular risk factors in hypercholesterolemic men and women. J Nutr. 2004; 134:2991-7.
Barceló-Coblijn G, Murphy EJ. Alpha-linolenic acid and its conversion to longer chain n-3 fatty acids: Benefits for human health and a role in maintaining tissue n-3 fatty acid levels. Prog Lipid Res. 2009;48(6):355-74.
Lázaro I, Rueda F, Cediel G, et al. Circulating omega-3 fatty acids and incident adverse events in patients with acute myocardial infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;76(18):2089–2097.
Sala-Vila A, Guasch-Ferré M, Hu FB, et al. Dietary α-linolenic acid, marine ω-3 fatty acids, and mortality in a population with high fish consumption: Findings from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5(1):e002543.
