By: Carolanne
(Contributing Writer for wakeup-world)
A powerful defense against breast cancer might just be found
in the daily habit of eating walnuts. Researchers at Marshall University in
Virginia have discovered that breast cancer risk dropped significantly in lab
animals who ate a regular diet that included a modest amount of the nut.
Lead researcher Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., compared the effects
of a standard diet and a diet containing walnuts throughout the lifespan of
mice. The quantity of walnuts used in the study was the equivalent of 2 ounces
of walnuts per day for a human.
The mice who consumed the diet which included walnuts
experienced breast cancer rates that were less than half compared of those in
the standard diet group. Moreover, the numbers and sizes of the tumors were
substantially smaller.
“These reductions are particularly important when you
consider that the mice were genetically programmed to develop cancer at a high
rate,” Hardman observed. “We were able to reduce the risk for cancer even in
the presence of a preexisting genetic mutation.”
Food as Medicine..
Rich in disease-fighting nutrients, walnuts provide a
healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids along with vitamin E. The team believes
that the combination of healthy fats and vitamin E were responsible for the
exceptional protective benefit against cancer. According to the university
press release:
“Using genetic analysis, the Marshall study found that the
walnut-containing diet changed the activity of multiple genes that are relevant
to breast cancer in both mice and humans. Other testing showed that increases
in omega 3 fatty acids did not fully account for the anti-cancer effect, and
found that tumor growth decreased when dietary vitamin E increased”
Hardman noted that these findings spotlight the crucial role
played by diet in health and the prevention of disease.
“Food is important medicine in our diet. What we put into
our bodies makes a big difference — it determines how the body functions, our
reaction to illness and health. The simple stuff really works: eat right, get
off the couch, and turn off the TV”
The study was funded by the American Institute for Cancer
Research and the California Walnut Commission.
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