Prostate Cancer? Breast Cancer? Nuts!

Research has recently uncovered a number of health benefits from consuming nuts from helping to control blood sugar, to lowering cholesterol, and providing protein. Different types yield different dividends: Almonds provide calcium and omega 3 fatty acids, and Brazil nuts offer a source of selenium. A study in British Journal of Cancer, June 2016, reports uncovering a new benefit of nuts. In a population of 47,299 men followed for 26 years, researchers tracked 6810 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, about two-thirds of them with disease that was not metastatic. They found that prostate cancer patients who ate approximately 7-8 almonds five times a week or more, were 34% less likely to die than those who ate nuts once a month. That’s a pretty astonishing figure.
But certain subtleties to this study are worth noting. First, eating nuts did not reduce risk of prostate cancer. Second, deeper analysis showed that the decrease in mortality did not happen because nuts inhibited prostate cancer growth. In fact, only 10% of the men died of prostate cancer. About a third of them died of cardiovascular disease, and the remainder of a variety of other degenerative diseases. Nuts actually seem to have affected the other causes of death in these patients, rather than prostate cancer death.
This finding emphasizes that for many men, particularly those with non-metastatic disease, prostate cancer is a disease you can live with, rather than one you die from. So treating the whole man, rather than just one organ, is of prime importance. As an example of the benefits of nuts to total health – they do have a special effect on mortality from cardiovascular and other diseases. A study in the Netherlands, for instance, found that people who ate the most tree nuts (such as almonds and walnuts) and peanuts (while “nut” is in the name, these are legumes like peas and beans and grow underground) had reduced mortality from several diseases. The mortality decrease from neurodegenerative disease was 46%, from respiratory disease 39%, cancer 21% and cardiovascular disease 17%. The researchers also looked at peanut butter, but found there was no correlation with mortality. Only 10 grams a day of nuts, about a third of an ounce, or 7-8 almonds, for instance, was needed for this effect. If you add nuts to your diet, though, it’s important to keep this quantity in perspective, since they are high in calories, and you could wind up gaining weight if you eat too many of them.
Similar to prostate cancer patients, breast cancer patients might die from breast cancer but equally probable from other causes. In fact, postmenopausal breast cancer patients are as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as from breast cancer. For instance, in one population of breast cancer patients who were more than 66 years old, 15.9% died of cardiovascular disease, and 15.1% of breast cancer. This might arise from the fact that some of the treatments that breast cancer patients undergo, including chemotherapy, can make them susceptible to cardiac complications. Although we don’t have specific studies about nuts in breast cancer, but there are several studies that indicate that eating a healthy diet does reduce deaths from non-breast cancer causes and nuts seem a good choice for those with breast cancer to help lower cardiac diseases.
For both prostate cancer and breast cancer patients, especially those with non-metastatic disease, actual death rates from cancer are fairly low in this era of improved treatments. So these patients need a health regimen that takes into account all their disease risks. A comprehensive diet, biobehavioral, and fitness program such as that offered at the Block Center is ideal for these patients. And yes, nuts are part of the Block Center’s diet. If you have an early stage breast or prostate cancer, why not consider calling the Center for a comprehensive assessment and consultation? Let us help you say “Nuts!” to cancer!