Story Posted on September 25th, 2008 

Study Shows Consuption of Walnuts May Slow Cancer Growth

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Snack-sized quantities of walnuts slow cancer growth in mice, reports a Marshall University pilot study published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition and Cancer. 

The purpose of the study was to determine whether mice that got part of their calories by eating walnuts had slower breast cancer growth than a group eating a diet more typical of the American diet. The study concluded that, in those that were fed the walnuts, the growth rate of the tumors they had was dramatically suppressed.  

The walnut-fed group ate a diet in which 18.5 percent of the daily calories -- the equivalent of two servings for humans -- came from walnuts. Tumors in that group took twice as long to double in size as tumors in the control group, the article reports. The study is believed to be the first to look at the impact of walnut consumption on cancer growth. 

Researcher W. Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., of Marshall's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine said that walnuts have at least three components that could account for their cancer-slowing effect. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to slow cancer growth. They also include antioxidants and components called phytosterols, both of which have shown cancer-slowing effects in other studies. Dr. Hardman said that Americans need to get more of their fat calories from fats rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fewer fat calories from saturated fat or foods high in omega-6 fatty acids.