Colon cancer patients and heavy tree nut consumers have better survival than other patients.
Nuts, almonds, hazelnuts… The consumption of nuts would reduce the risk of recurrence of colon cancer and the risk of dying from this disease, reports a american study presented at the next International Congress of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to be held in Chicago from June 2-6.
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Institute of Oncology (USA) conducted this work as part of a larger study on the benefits of oilseeds. In 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine, in particular, they showed that regular nut consumers are 29% less likely to die from cardiovascular pathologies, an 11% reduced risk for cancer. This study was conducted on 119,000 people over 30 years.
This time, the scientists wanted to know if the nuts could prevent the recurrence of cancers or slow the progression of the tumor. To do this, they followed 826 patients treated for metastatic colon cancer for 7 years.
A healthy lifestyle
It appears that patients who consume about 50 grams of nuts per week have an increased disease-free survival of 42% and an overall improved survival of 57% compared to non-consuming patients. The authors point out that these benefits are only seen for 3 types of tree nuts – walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. Fans of roasted peanuts or peanut butter will certainly be disappointed.
Low mortality rates were also noted in patients meeting recommendations for physical activity (at least 30 minutes of exercise per day) and diet.
“The consumption of nuts is a lifestyle factor that can potentially modify the risk of colon cancer recurrence,” commented Dr. Temidayo Fadelu, head of the work. It is in addition to a variety of behaviors to adopt to reduce this risk such as moving more, maintaining a healthy weight and consuming less sugar. However, this healthy lifestyle cannot replace standard treatments ”.
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