Going nuts on breast cancer

Go nuts! Walnuts may prove to be the next weapon against breast cancer. Research from Marshall University have found that eating walnuts as part of a regular diet reduced the growth of breast cancer tumors in mice. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The only catch is you have to eat two ounces a day, which is about two handfuls.  Professor Joe Vinson, who teaches chemistry and served as a researcher for the study said, "A handful of walnuts contains almost twice as much antioxidants as an equivalent amount of any other commonly consumed nut, but unfortunately, people don't eat a lot of them."

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Walnuts are known to have antioxidant polyphenols, chemical compounds that stop free radicals, which are usually molecules (they can also be atoms or ions) that are very chemically reactive.

Radicals are believed to contribute significantly to cancer, aging, and other degenerative processes. The antioxidants in walnuts have been found to diminish their impact on the body.
In addition to affecting the free radicals, compounds in the walnuts appeared to affect genes that contribute to breast cancer. 

In the study, mice who had been genetically modified to develop cancer, were fed walnuts and compared to mice with normal diets. Those eating walnuts developed breast cancer at less than half the rate of those who did not eat them. And those mice that ate walnuts and did develop tumors had fewer and smaller tumors. 

The study was funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the California Walnut Commission. The report has been published in the journal, Nutrition and Cancer. If the conclusions are confirmed, then women may have a new weapon in the fight against breast cancer, simply by going nuts.

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