Several studies have shown the benefits of this nut in different aspects of health: from Alzheimer’s to breast cancer. Now a new study conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center has confirmed that a diet rich in walnuts could protect against prostate cancer, the second most common in men.
“The data we have suggests that including walnuts in our daily diet could be beneficial in preventing or delaying the onset of some types of cancer, such as prostate and breast cancer,” explained Russel Reiter, principal investigator. And it is that according to the data obtained by the scientists, when the mice were fed a diet enriched in this dried fruit, only 18 percent of them developed cancerous tumors in the prostate. Those who followed a normal control diet developed tumors in 44 percent of the cases.
In total, 48 mice were used for the study. 16 of them were fed a diet enriched with walnuts, the other 36 were fed a basic diet. The amount of walnuts with which the diet was enriched was equivalent to two handfuls of walnuts per day, but the results obtained were evident. In Reiter’s words, “We were totally surprised by the effectiveness of the diet in terms of inhibiting prostate cancer.”
As Elaine Hardman of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University points out, a co-author of the study, “the data obtained to date suggest that the regular use of walnuts in the diet may be beneficial in delaying, preventing or delaying some types of cancer, including breast and prostate cancer ”.
Each year in Spain more than 25,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed , according to data from the Spanish Association against Cancer. This accounts for 21 percent of all male tumors, second only to lung cancer.
