Reduces The Risk Of Cancer
Walnuts are rich in plant compounds like omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, and urolithins. According to research, these bioactive ingredients may have anti-cancer properties.
Walnuts can reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer. The American Association for Cancer Research says that eating a few nuts a day can help reduce your risk of breast cancer.
Why Would Walnuts Be So Good For You
While this new research is intriguing, it also raises the question of whether walnuts are unique in some way. In fact, it may be the types of oils in walnuts that make them special when it comes to cardiovascular health. Walnuts contain a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are healthier than saturated fats. In addition, walnuts have alpha-linolenic and linoleic acids, which may have anti-inflammatory effects that keep blood vessels healthy, in addition to having favorable effects on blood lipids.
All nuts are not created equal. Many nuts are rich in monounsaturated fats, along with polyunsaturated fats. These are healthier types of fats than saturated and trans fats, but the specific combination of fats and polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in walnuts may be particularly good for cardiovascular health.
Walnuts: Good For Prostate Too
DAVIS, Calif., March 24 — A study in mice found walnuts slowed prostate tumors by 30 percent to 40 percent, U.S. researchers said.
Paul Davis of the University of California, Davis, said not only was prostate cancer growth reduced, but the mice had lower blood levels of a protein — insulin-like growth factor — strongly associated with prostate cancer.
Davis and colleagues said walnuts — rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, antioxidants and other plant chemicals — had an effect on the gene activity in the prostate tumors with beneficial effects on genes related to controlling tumor growth and metabolism. The findings provide additional evidence walnuts — already shown to be good for the heart — may be high in fat, but healthful.
“This study shows that when mice with prostate tumors consume an amount of walnuts that could easily be eaten by a man, tumor growth is controlled,” Davis said in a statement. “This leaves me very hopeful that it could be beneficial in patients.”
For 18 weeks, Davis fed mice genetically programmed to get prostate cancer either a diet with whole walnuts — the human equivalent of eating 2.4 ounces of walnuts per day — or a diet with an equal amount of fat, but not from walnuts.
The findings were presented at the annual national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.
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Walnuts Benefit Male Reproductive Health
Walnuts have many benefits for men because their ALA omega-3 content helps to improve male reproductive health.
A randomized control dietary intervention trial found that consuming 18 whole walnuts a day helped to improve sperm quality. Researchers noted that after 12 weeks, there was a marked improvement in sperm vitality, morphology, and shape.
Other studies have shown that increasing walnut intake can benefit mens fertility and prevent oxidative stress that can affect male reproduction ability.
If you are trying to father a child, learn about other ways to improve the lifespan of sperm.
Could Walnuts Prove Beneficial For Prostate Cancer Patients
Jun 27, 2019Cedars-Sinai Staff
Researchers have long suspected there is a connection between what we eat and our cancer risk.
At Cedars-Sinai, scientists at the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle are working to better understand these connections.
“I want to be able to tell patients: ‘Based on evidence, if you do this or that, we can actually change your tumor.'”
Right now theyre taking aim at prostate cancer, a cancer that affects 1 in 9 men. Led by Dr. Stephen Freedland, the Walnuts for Power study is looking at one potential way to limit the progression of this disease.
To learn more about this research, we went straight to the source.
In the Newsroom: Some Men With Prostate Cancer Opt Out of Surgery
What are you studying?
Dr. Freedland: We are studying the effects of walnut intake on prostate cancer progression. Specifically looking at prostate cancer, we think there may be some benefit in walnuts. They have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols, both of which are good for you.
Our study focuses on patients who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and plan to undergo radical prostatectomy, or surgery to remove the prostate.
Our goal is to determine whether daily walnut consumption will slow prostate cancer growth compared to no daily walnut consumption.
Read: Lifestyle and Cancer: Understanding the Connection
What is the goal of this study?
How are you studying this?
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How To Avoid Prostate Problems With Cucurmin
In a series of articles published in the journal Nature and others, Dr. Dorai evaluated the topic thoroughly. The articles mentioned 4 different reasons why curcumin is a potential agent to help avoid prostate problems:
- It induces apoptosis: This is cellular death, which is a natural body response. It is lost in prostate cancer and BPH. But curcumin is capable of increasing the rate of apoptosis in prostate tissue .
- It reduces tyrosine kinase activity: In this regard, it acts similar to a prostate cancer drug called tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This reduces the cell signals that favor prostate overgrowth .
- It inhibits proliferation and angiogenesis: This function of curcumin is particularly important in patients with prostate cancer. Curcumin slows down cell proliferation but also contributes in another aspect. It wont allow cancer to build new blood vessels to keep on growing. This inhibits angiogenesis and prevents more advances in phases in prostate cancer .
- It reduces the rate of bone metastasis: The effect from these foods does not have to do with helping to shrink the prostate gland, but it is very important, too. Prostate cancer cells mimic bone cells and cause bone metastasis. But curcumin interferes with this property and may reduce the rate of bone metastasis .Thats why a 2016 review on the topic revisited each one of these mechanisms and recommended curcumin as a side therapy in patients with prostate cancer and other prostate health issues .
May Help Manage Type 2 Diabetes And Lower Your Risk
Observational studies suggest that one reason walnuts are linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes is that they help control weight. Excess weight increases your risk of high blood sugar and diabetes .
Yet, eating walnuts may help control blood sugar by mechanisms beyond their influence on weight control.
In a controlled study in 100 people with type 2 diabetes, consuming 1 tablespoon of cold-pressed walnut oil a day for 3 months, while continuing their usual diabetes medication and balanced diet, resulted in an 8% decrease in fasting blood sugar .
Additionally, the walnut oil users had about an 8% decrease in hemoglobin A1C . The control group showed no improvement in A1C or fasting blood sugar. Neither group had a change in their weight.
Summary
Eating walnuts may help control type 2 diabetes and reduce your risk of the disease, as the nut may help control your weight. Walnuts might have more direct effects on blood sugar control as well.
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Health Benefits Of Walnuts
- By Robert H. Shmerling, MD,
Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
For many, choosing a healthy diet is all about sacrifice: foregoing the appetizers, cutting back on carbs or saturated fat, giving up dessert. But what if there was something you really liked that turned out to be good for you? No, Im not talking about chocolate .
This time its nuts in the news. Previous studies have found that people with higher nut consumption have improved cardiovascular risk factors and lower rates of cardiovascular disease. For example, several trials have linked nut consumption with lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. And nuts are an important part of the Mediterranean diet, which has been found to be heart-healthy as well.
What Foods Should Definitely Be Making An Appearance On Your Plate
We know that maintaining a healthy diet will help to improve our overall health but could it in some way help with more specific health concerns such as an enlarged prostate? In this blog our Mens Health Expert Dr. Jen Tan investigates this question and offers some advice on how best to improve your diet when you suffer from this condition.
Dr. Jen Tan
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How Does The Prostate Work
The prostate is a gland about the size of a chestnut and weighs about 30 grams . It is part of the male reproductive system and is located inside the body. The prostates most important function is the production of a fluid that, together with sperm cells from the testicles and fluids from other glands, makes up semen. The muscles of the prostate also ensure that the semen is forcefully pressed into the urethra and then expelled outwards during ejaculation.
The prostate is located directly below the bladder and above the muscles of the pelvic floor. The rectum is behind the prostate, making it possible to feel the gland from the rectum using the finger. The ducts in the prostate gland flow into the urethra, which passes through the prostate. The word prostate is taken from the Greek expression meaning one who stands before, which describes the position of the prostate gland. Viewed from below, where the urethra leaves the gland, the prostate stands before the bladder.
The tissue of the prostate gland can be divided into three different zones, listed here from innermost to outermost, which encircle the urethra like layers of an onion:
The prostate has various functions:
Production of fluid for semen:
Hormone metabolism: In the prostate the male sex hormone testosterone is transformed to a biologically active form, DHT .
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Compounds In Walnuts Affect The Expression Of Prostate Cancer
Aside from determining the effects of a walnut-rich diet on prostate tumor growth, the researchers experiment on mice was also designed to identify which components of walnuts are responsible for their anti-tumor properties. Walnuts are known to be rich in essential nutrients, such as zinc, magnesium and selenium. They are also an excellent source of fiber and essential fats like omega-3 fatty acids, which are known for their heart and brain benefits, among others.
To find out if these healthy components, particularly omega-3s, contribute to walnuts anti-tumor effects, the researchers used soybean oil as a control. Soybean oil has a similar fatty acid profile to walnuts. The researchers found that while walnuts and walnut oil reduced cholesterol and slowed prostate cancer growth in mice, soybean oil did not. This confirmed their suspicion that other walnut components or a combination of these nutrients are responsible for the improvements, not just omega-3s.
On the other hand, the researchers found that walnuts can influence the expression of genes involved in tumor growth and metabolism. The energy effects from decreasing IGF-1 seem to muck up the works so the cancer cant grow as fast as it normally would, Davis explained. Also, reducing cholesterol means cancer cells may not get enough of it to allow these cells to grow quickly.
For more news about foods that help fight cancer, visit PreventCancer.news.
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Can The Walnut Help Cure Prostate Cancer
A cup of walnuts holds 117 percent of the fat you need in a day. This fact prompted Paul Davis, a professor at UC Davis , to approach the California Walnut Board for funding. Davis wanted to feed the nuts to lab mice.
The research nutritionist had seen studies that connected fatty diets and prostate cancer. And he knew federal guidelines recommend we limit our fat intake to less than 30 percent of our calorie intake. But, he says, hes also convinced, given the epidemiological evidence, that the Mediterranean diet, which is high in nuts and high in fat, is one of the best ones around. He was confounded by the disconnect.
So he took mice that had been genetically engineered to develop the disease and divided them into three groups. One batch ate a high-fat diet that included 155 grams per day of ground walnuts. Another group was fed a comparable amount of fat in the form of soybean oil while a third received a low-fat diet that also included soybean oil. All other nutrients were identical.
The mice were killed at 9, 18, and 24 weeks upon examination, researchers found that prostate tumors in the walnut-fed mice were smaller, and tumor growth rate was much slower, than in the other two groups. The walnut-fed mice also had lower levels of insulin-like hormone growth factor 1, which has been linked to cancer.
Its not the magic bullet, he says, but its part of the magic fusillade.
How Our Research Was Done
All Adventist Health Study participants agree to fill out self-administered food frequency questionnaires reporting the average number of times per week they ate approximately 200 different foods and beverages, and the serving sizes. After tracking the studys male participants, all of whom were cancer-free when they enrolled in the project, we found that 1,226 of them had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 355 of those were aggressive cases.
As we focused on dietary lycopene levels, we found that men who consumed canned and cooked tomatoes five to six times a week had a 28 per cent decreased risk of prostate cancer compared with men who never consumed this food. The effect was still significant even after adjusting for potential confounders including ethnicity, education, obesity, exercise levels, alcohol consumption and others. Interestingly, we found no significant association between prostate cancer and consumption of raw tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato sauce and tomato-based vegetable juice.
While all tomatoes and tomato-based products contain lycopene, other studies have shown that lycopene is absorbed at different rates depending on the product consumed. Lycopene bioavailability is higher when tomatoes have been heated or cooked, and especially if cooked with oil. Processing tomatoes in this way contributes to the separation of the lycopene from the carrier proteins.
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Tomatoes Dont Prevent Prostate Cancer
Study Shows That Lycopene Doesnt Cut Risk of Prostate Cancer
May 17, 2007 The news that tomatoes could prevent prostate cancer sounded too good to be true, and apparently it was.
Lycopene, found mainly in tomatoes and tomato products, had little impact on prostate cancer risk in a new study from the National Cancer Institute and Seattles Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Early research suggesting a protective role for lycopene spurred great commercial and public interest in the antioxidant in the late 1990s.
But subsequent studies have been either contradictory or inconclusive, Fred Hutchinson assistant professor and researcher Ulrike Peters, PhD, MPH, tells WebMD.
The new research, led by Peters, is one of the largest and most rigorously designed trials ever to examine the issue. And the lycopene findings were unequivocal.
It would be great if it were true. would be a cheap and easy way to lower prostate cancer risk, and it would be a great public health message, Peters says. Unfortunately, its not that easy.
Are Nuts Bad For Prostate Cancer
4.2/5nutsprostate cancerprostate canceranswer here
Red meat, processed meats, and foods high in fat appear to be bad for those with prostate cancer. Plant-based foods, such as soy, fruits, and vegetables, could have the opposite effect.
are walnuts good for your prostate? Now, a new mouse study from researchers at the University of California-Davis suggests diets rich in walnuts or walnut oil could slow prostate cancer growth. While they are high in fat, their fat does not drive prostate cancer growth. In fact, walnuts do just the opposite when fed to mice.
Likewise, people ask, is peanut butter good for prostate?
Peanut butter intake was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of non-advanced prostate cancer, but not with total or advanced prostate cancer. Also, no significant associations were found for tree nuts, peanuts, or peanut butter in total prostate cancer cases.
What is the best thing to drink for your prostate?
Drink tea. Both green tea and hibiscus tea are among the top drinks for prostate health. Both types of tea contain potent antioxidants. Studies show that green tea can help prevent prostate cancer from forming and may also slow the growth of aggressive prostate cancer.
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Walnuts Have Cancer Fighting Properties
Various trials have shown that consuming walnuts may help in preventing the development of certain cancers.
Scientists suggest that a combination of many of the beneficial antioxidants in walnuts helps kill off cancer cells. Lab trials on mice have found that tocopherols and other biochemicals can help slow the growth of colon, prostate, and renal cancer. Also, walnut compounds have shown to be effective in reducing the size of breast tumors.
Ellagitannins in walnuts turn into a compound called urolithin in your gut. Some studies have shown that urolithins can help to kill off prostate cancer cells and help prevent prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, there are very few clinical trials on using walnuts to treat cancers in humans. However, many doctors agree that a diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids has many health benefits, including helping to reduce the risk of cancer.
Having Sex More Often Can Protect Your Prostate
A few studies conducted concurrently in various parts of the world have come to an interesting conclusion: frequent ejaculation is associated with lower incidence of some forms of prostate cancer.
One of these studies tracked 32,000 men from 1992, when they were in their 20s, to 2010. The researchers analyzed data from questionnaires regarding participants sexual health. They also reviewed their medical records and lab test results to double-check their prostate tumor diagnoses.
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