Book excerpt: The Magic of Walnuts - Walnuts for Natural Cures And Good Health Table of Contents Introduction Most popular Walnut Cultivars Growing Walnuts Harvesting Storing Walnuts Nutritive Value of Walnuts Walnut Granola Walnuts to Cure You Walnuts for Constipation Pain in Joints Traditional Toothpaste Out Of Walnuts Walnuts for Improving Your Memory Natural Walnut Tune-up Tonic Walnuts for Skincare Walnuts for Chest Infections Precautions and Possible Side Effects Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction Since ancient times, walnuts have been among the most popular – and also the most expensive – of dried fruits available to mankind. If you found yourself in ancient China and happened to be a member of the court of the Emperor, you would show your status by holding a pair of perfectly and symmetrically shaped walnuts. They would be large in size and would be moved around on your palms, while you discuss weighty political matters with the rest of your peers. They would also be rotating and pressing walnuts while arguing the point with you. The ancient Chinese considered these walnuts pressing their palms to be aids in acupuncture, especially when this pressure promoted the circulation of blood. If you are in ancient Rome, and were in Julius Caesar’s circle, you could perhaps see one of his slaves using red-hot walnut shells as a rather painful depilatory in order to keep Caesar’s skin smooth and hairless. Even today, in many parts of the world, burnt and powdered walnut shells are used as a scrub to prevent growth of hair. A traditional and very politically incorrect old Irish saying says “, a dog, a woman, a Walnut tree, the more you beat them, the better they be .” That is definitely not true, because I could not “see” anybody beating a Walnut tree, though, I have been witness to animals and human beings being treated to violence often, and all over the world. If you were a friend of Leonardo da Vinci in medieval times, it is possible that you may have seen him doing some of his drawings with an ink made up of black walnut husks. Many of these drawings still survive today. Robin Hood in his mythological adventures always disguised himself by staining his skin with walnut juice obtained from crushed walnuts and walnut husks. This dye was brown in color, and was used for dyeing hair by the ancient Greeks and Romans.