A new study by researchers from Marshall University of Medicine in Huntington reveals that eating walnuts can cut risk of developing breast cancer because they contain ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that may all reduce the risk of the disease.

 

The finding is based on a study that involved mice fed the human equivalent of two ounces (56.7g) of walnuts per day. These mice developed fewer and smaller tumors.

 

“These laboratory mice typically have 100 percent tumor incidence at five months; walnut consumption delayed those tumors by at least three weeks,” Dr, Elaine Hardman, of Marshall University School of Medicine said.

 

Based on this study, the researchers are confident that the beneficial effect of walnuts was likely to apply to humans too.

 

“We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases. It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer,” Dr. Hardman said.

 

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women after skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society’s statistics, breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three cancers diagnosed in American women. The incidence of breast cancer increases dramatically after age fifty, with fifty percent of breast cancers diagnosed in women over the age of forty-five.

 

The study was presented at the 100th annual meeting in Denver of the American Association for Cancer Research.