Girls who Eat Peanut Butter may Reduce their Breast Cancer Risk

A new study shows that eating peanut butter could actually reduce the risk of breast cancer in women.

According to researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., young women who regularly consume peanut butter may be reducing their risk for tumors.

Study authors from the Washington University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School examined girls ages 9 to 15 who frequently ate peanut butter or nuts. They found that they were up to 39 percent less likely to get benign breast disease by age 30. Background information from the study notes that while this breast disease is noncancerous, it can increase the risk of breast cancer for women later in life.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes that besides skin cancer, breast cancer in the United States is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women, no matter race or ethnicity. 

 "These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women," said senior author Graham Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, via a press release.

The results are based on medical histories from more than 9,000 U.S. girls that participated in The Growing Up Today Study from 1996 through 2001. As the participants aged, researchers noted whether they had been diagnosed with benign breast disease.

Findings show that young women who consume peanut butter or nuts twice a week were up to 39 percent less likely to have formed benign breast disease than those who never consumed the food before. This also suggests that beans, lentils, soybeans and corn may also improve breast health down the road. However, researchers are still uncertain at this point whether there is enough evidence to directly make this type of conclusion.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.