Having Nuts In Your Diet May Reduce Risks From Prostate Cancer, Study Suggests

A new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston claims that men with prostate cancer can significantly reduce their risk of dying from the disease by eating nuts such as cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts.

According to The Times, researchers were able to discover that five servings a week of any kind of nuts is able to reduce the chances of death by 34 percent compared to those who eat nuts less than once a month. However, there was no evidence that showed eating nuts reduce the risk of developing the disease.

"Just 1.5 ounces of nuts per day (about 1/3 cup) can have a positive impact on health," added Maureen Ternus, Executive Director at the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation which is a US based non-profit organization. 'Insulin resistance', a condition in which the cells of the body become resistant to the hormone insulin, is involved in prostate cancer risk and progression, she continued.

Tree nuts have been associated with the ability to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This means that it lowers the total mortality factor. Food.ndtv.com also reported that nuts contain important nutrients like unsaturated fats, high quality protein, vitamins, minerals and phyto-chemicals, all of which offer cardio-protective, anti- carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, according to the researchers.

The findings come from the largest study about the effects a nut-rich diet can have on prostate cancer. About 50,000 men aged over 26 were examined by researchers for Harvard Medical School study. A report from the Hindustan Times said that the subjects of the study were diagnosed with non-metastatic cancer. They found that 10 percent of the participants died from prostate cancer, and about one-third died from heart disease and other causes.

"These findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that nuts should be part of a healthy diet," Ternus noted.