Through the consumption of walnuts, women could decrease their risk of developing breast cancer, reported the researchers Tuesday in United States. Experts from the school of medicine at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, found that laboratory mice modified to develop breast cancer had far less risk of developing the disease if they were fed the equivalent of a handful of walnuts per day. Walnuts are better cookies or potato chips when you want a treat, said in a statement Elaine Hardman, one of the researchers who participated in the study. We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all forms of chronic disease, said the expert. Hardman said that although the research was conducted on laboratory animals, it is possible that the same mechanism works in people. Walnuts contain many ingredients which, individually, have shown slow cancer growth, including fatty acids omega-3, antioxidants and the phytosterols, wrote the team of Hardman in a summary presented during an annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, in Denver. Researchers used rodents especially designed to develop breast cancer.
Half received the equivalent of about 60 grams of walnuts per day and the other half followed a normal diet. Mice that ate Walnut showed fewer tumors, and smaller than other animals. In addition, cancers appeared later in the Group of animals fed with walnuts. These laboratory mice typically have a tumour incidence of 100 percent five months. Walnut consumption delayed (the emergence of) tumors at least three weeks, said Hardman in a statement. It is clear that walnuts contribute healthy eating to reduce breast cancer, said the scientist. The study adds to the evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may provide a number of benefits for health, from prevention heart disease to reduce the risk of cancer. Experts don’t know if the types that are found in nuts and vegetables work as well as the omega-3 fatty acids that are found in fish oil.