Walnuts Reduce Prostate Cancer in Mice

Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics , Food and Agriculture on March 23, 2010

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In a new study on mice, researchers have been able to show that the consumption of walnuts helped slow the growth of prostate cancer.

Walnuts have long been documented to be rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, antioxidants and other plant chemicals and acknowledged by the FDA to help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. In an experiment with mice genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer, scientists found that consumption of what is human equivalent to 2.4 ounces of walnuts per day resulted in significantly smaller, slower-growing prostate tumors (30-40% reduction) compared to mice consuming the same diet with an equal amount of fat, but not from walnuts. In addition, the mice had lower blood levels of a particular protein, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which has been strongly associated with prostate cancer.

Although clinical trials using human prostate cancer patients is necessary to establish if such effects also apply to humans, these represent promising data, especially as it seems that tumor growth may be controlled with an amount of walnuts that could easily be eaten by a man.