Private MD News

Walnuts may reduce breast cancer risk

Category: Breast

In order to help women avoid positive breast cancer tests, a team of researchers out of Marshall University is recommending that individuals at risk for the condition get more walnuts into their diet.

The investigators conducted a study, which showed that mice fed a diet rich in walnuts were significantly less likely to develop breast cancer, even when they were genetically pre-programmed to have risk factors for the condition.

"Food is important medicine in our diet," said lead author Elaine Hardman. "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."

However, she noted that the benefits may not so much be due to increased walnut consumption so much as decreased levels other potentially harmful nutrients in the rodents' diets. In order to get more walnuts into the diet of the test subjects, the team had to leave out fattier feed items.

Regardless, the findings show that making efforts to make protein-rich nuts a larger part of a woman's diet can help her reduce her risk of receiving a positive breast cancer test.