Walnuts Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer

Walnuts may be as good for the breast as they are for the heart. Researchers have known for nearly two decades that walnuts have cardiovascular benefits. For one thing, regular consumption lowers bad LDL cholesterol. Now researchers have discovered that walnuts can help protect against breast cancer in mice. Scientists found that female mice given walnuts as part of their food were 50 percent less likely than females on a control diet to develop breast cancer. Tumors that did appear in the walnut-eating mice were slower to progress.
Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that can reduce inflammation, but the researchers suggest that this alone does not account fully for walnuts’ power against breast cancer. Other antioxidants and phytonutrients may also be contributing to the anticancer effect. The mice were given a quantity of walnuts that would be roughly equivalent to about 2 ounces of walnuts daily for a woman (approximately 28 walnut halves).
[Nutrition and Cancer, online July 20, 2011]