Walnuts may not be the first thing you think to throw into your shopping cart, but these snackable tree nuts have long been touted for a range of health benefits, and they're a veritable superfood when it comes to heart health thanks to their high polyunsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acid content. A new study has found that walnuts might also be anti-inflammatory, which may mean they're even better for your heart than previously thought.

The study aimed to find out if walnuts are anti-inflammatory because inflammation is thought to increase cardiovascular disease risk. Researchers looked at data from 634 participants in the Walnuts and Healthy Aging trial and after two years, those who had kicked up their walnut consumption reduced 6 of the 10 biomarkers for inflammation that the study was tracking, with no reported negative effect on weight. The study authors concluded that walnuts do have anti-inflammatory properties, which might explain why they've proven to be so heart-healthy.

"The anti-inflammatory effect of long-term consumption of walnuts demonstrated in this study provides insight for the benefit of walnuts on heart disease risk," Montserrat Cofán, Ph.D., lead author of the study said in a press release. Other researchers not involved in the study noted that it seemingly confirmed what previous, smaller studies couldn't. "By being the largest and longest nut trial to date, this study had enough power to overcome the limitations of previous studies," they wrote. So, next time you're perusing the grocery store shelves, you might want to consider stocking up on some walnuts to snack on. Your heart—and your gut, brain, and waistline—will thank you.