To rev up your defense against breast cancer, reach for a handful of walnuts each day. In a new study
from Nutrition and Cancer, mice that munched on walnuts daily developed breast cancer at less than half the rate of mice given a walnut-free diet. What’s more, the walnut-fed mice had significantly smaller tumors if they did end up getting breast cancer. All of the mice in the study were genetically engineered to develop breast cancer at a higher rate than normal mice.
Sizing up their study findings, scientists determined that the walnut-enriched diet altered the activity of multiple genes involved in breast cancer. While the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts seemed to contribute to anti-cancer effect, vitamin E also appeared to play a critical role in reducing tumor growth. The amount of walnuts consumed by the study mice equates to about two ounces a day for humans, the study authors note.
Not only rich in omega-3s and vitamin E, walnuts contain fiber (a key nutrient for cancer defense) and a number of cancer-fighting antioxidants. In fact, the authors of a 2011 study from the University of Pennsylvania found that a serving of walnuts offers almost twice the amount of antioxidants compared to any other commonly consumed nut.
