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The risk of breast cancer dropped significantly in mice when their regular diet included amodest amount of walnut, Marshall University researchers report inthe journal Nutrition and Cancer. The study, led by Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., of Marshall's Joan C.Edwards School of Medicine, compared the effects of a typical dietand a diet containing walnuts across the lifespan: through themother from conception through weaning, and then through eating thefood directly. The amount of walnut in the test diet equates toabout 2 ounces a day for humans. Hardman said that during the study period, the group whose dietincluded walnut at both stages developed breast cancer at less thanhalf the rate of the group with the typical diet. In addition, thenumber of tumors and their sizes were significantly smaller. "These reductions are particularly important when you consider thatthe mice were genetically programmed to develop cancer at a high rate," Hardman said. "We were able to reduce the riskfor cancer even in the presence of a preexisting genetic mutation." The paper notes that dietary modification studies do not showwhether benefits result from what is added to a diet or what isremoved. In this case, adding healthy fat and other componentsmeant that unhealthy fat was reduced to keep total dietary fatbalanced in the mice. Hardman said other studies have clearlyshown, however, that multiple ingredients in walnuts reduce therisk of cancer or slow its growth. Using genetic analysis, the Marshall study found that thewalnut-containing diet changed the activity of multiple genes thatare relevant to breast cancer in both mice and humans. Othertesting showed that increases in omega 3 fatty acids did not fullyaccount for the anti-cancer effect, and found that tumor growthdecreased when dietary vitamin E increased. Hardman said the findings highlight the vital role diet plays inhealth. "Food is important medicine in our diet," she said. "What we putinto our bodies makes a big difference - it determines how the bodyfunctions, our reaction to illness and health. The simple stuffreally works: eat right, get off the couch, and turn off the TV. "The results of this study indicate that increased consumption ofwalnut could be part of a healthy diet and reduce risk for cancerin future generations," she said. The study was funded by grants from the American Institute forCancer Research and the California Walnut Commission. Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as High Power Led Flashlights Manufacturer , China Li-socl2 Battery, and more. For more , please visit Rechargeable Nimh Batteries today!
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