According to a new study conducted by researchers from the Dana- Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in the United States, U.S., colon cancer patients who regularly tuck into the healthy snack after their treatment have a 57 per cent lower risk of premature death. It also reduces the risk of the cancer returning by 42 per cent, the research adds.
Tree nuts – including almonds, pecans and walnuts – have the biggest benefits, while peanuts and peanut butter do not have any impact.
The researchers therefore advised that bowel cancer patients should enhance their survival prospects by upping their nut intake.
The findings which were released ahead of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, also revealed that nut eaters have a 42 per cent lower risk of their cancer returning.
Walnuts belong to the tree nut family, along with Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, and pistachios. Each has its own unique nutritional profile. One-quarter cup of walnuts, for instance, provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin. Some of the most exciting researches about walnuts go a long way to show how beneficial this gift of nature is to humanity.
Walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well. In one study, mice that ate the human equivalent of 2.4 ounces of whole walnuts for 18 weeks had significantly smaller and slower-growing prostate tumors compared to the control group that consumed the same amount of fat but from other sources.
Overall the whole walnut diet reduced prostate cancer growth by 30 to 40 percent. According to another study on mice, the human equivalent of just two handfuls of walnuts a day cut breast cancer risk in half, and slowed tumor growth by 50 percent as well.
Walnuts contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk of heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors.
If you struggle with herpes, you may want to avoid or limit walnuts, as high levels of arginine can deplete the amino acid lysine, which can trigger herpes recurrences.
Walnuts also contain the plant-based omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is anti-inflammatory and may prevent the formation of pathological blood clots. Research shows that people who eat a diet high in ALA are less likely to have a fatal heart attack and have a nearly 50 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death. Eating just four walnuts a day has been shown to significantly raise blood levels of heart-healthy ALA, and walnut consumption supports healthful cholesterol levels.
