Eating nuts may help fight breast cancer, says new study

Ask any nutrition expert and he will tell you: the nuts are rather cruel. In fact, of all nuts, nuts contain the greatest amount of omega-3s and antioxidant polyphenols, both of which have potent anti-inflammatory properties. Research has linked nut consumption to all sorts of benefits, from reduced risk of type 2 diabetes to weight loss, cholesterol reduction, and blood pressure. And now, scientists have more and more reasons to believe that nuts can also help fight bad cancer.

In a new study published in Nutrition research, The researchers divided the women who had just undergone a bad cancer biopsy into two groups. One group started eating two ounces of nuts a day for two weeks, and the other group did not do it. After a follow-up biopsy, the researchers found significant changes in tumor gene expression in the nut group. Consuming nuts, researchers have learned, activating gene pathways that promote apoptosis (or death of cancer cells) and inhibited pathways that promote the growth of cancer cells.

This study builds on previous research that nut consumption reduced the growth of bad cancer and reduced the risk of bad cancer in mice. "These findings support the hypothesis that walnut consumption could inhibit the growth and survival of bad cancers," said the study's author. W. Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., in a press release from Marshall University.

The researchers did not identify a specific compound (or compound) in the nuts that produced this anticancer effect, but polyphenols can play an important role. "The primary polyphenol in nuts is the pedunculagin, an ellagitannin," said Vincent Pedre, MD recently at mbg. "Ellagitannins provide well-known benefits of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which can protect against cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases."

Of course, additional research is needed to confirm these findings, but given the impressive nutrient composition of nuts and their reputation for helping against other chronic diseases, it's not hard to believe. Better yet, nuts are one of the cheapest nuts you can buy! To learn more about eating to beat the disease, check out these 21 anti-cancer foods that naturally reduce your risk of lung and bad cancer.