Walnuts May Help Prevent Colon Cancer

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A study by the American Cancer Society estimated that nearly 6,000 Latino men and 5,000 iStock_000016570159_SmallLatino women could be diagnosed with colon cancer each year. Colorectal cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer for both Latino men and women. However, eating a particular “superfood” may help prevent this dreaded disease.

UConn Health and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, reported in the Cancer Prevention Research journal, found that eating walnuts may change a person’s gut bacteria in a way that suppresses colon cancer. The researchers studied mice and found that those that at 7-10% of their daily total calories as walnuts developed fewer instances of colon cancer. These findings are the equivalent of a human eating one ounce of walnuts a day.

Walnuts are loaded with compounds known to be important nutritionally and have the most polyunsaturated fatty acids of all the commonly eaten tree nuts. They also have the highest ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, and high levels of a form of Vitamin E with anti-cancer properties.

“Our results show for the first time that walnut consumption may reduce colon tumor development,” said Daniel W. Rosenberg of UConn Health, principal investigator on the study. “There is accumulating evidence that eating walnuts may offer a variety of benefits related to health issues like cancer. This study shows that walnuts may also act as a probiotic to make the colon healthy, which in turn offers protection against colon tumors.”

By The Numbers By The Numbers

25.1

percent

of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage

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