Writing in Nature's British
Journal of Cancer, the team behind the new analysis reported that consumption
of nuts - including tree nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts,
macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts - was found to be
inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, independent of other
potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer.
The
data, from a large-scale prospective study, investigated the association
between nut consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer in more than 75,000 women
who took part in the Nurses' Health Study, and had no previous history of
cancer.
"Frequent nut consumption is inversely associated with risk of pancreatic
cancer in this large prospective cohort of women, independent of other
potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer," explained the research team
- led by Dr Ying Bao of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical
School.
The body uses selenium to make "selenoproteins", which work like antioxidants preventing damage to cells. There is a growing body of evidence to show it has a key role in health.
The body uses selenium to make "selenoproteins", which work like antioxidants preventing damage to cells. There is a growing body of evidence to show it has a key role in health.
Bao and colleagues found
that women who consumed a one-ounce serving of nuts two or more times per week
had a 35% lower risk of pancreatic cancer when compared to those who largely
abstained from nuts.
"This reduction in
risk was independent of established or suspected risk factors for pancreatic
cancer including age, height, obesity, physical activity, smoking, diabetes and
dietary factors," said Bao.
Soil Degradation A Problem
"Selenium levels in our blood plummeted after the time the government began measuring them in 1974," says Margaret Rayman, professor of nutritional medicine at the University of Surrey and a leading researcher in selenium’s effects.
"They stabilised at this sub-optimal level in the mid-Nineties as our diets haven’t changed much since."
The problem is compounded by the fact that we import less foods from selenium-rich soils than ever before.
Soil Degradation A Problem
"Selenium levels in our blood plummeted after the time the government began measuring them in 1974," says Margaret Rayman, professor of nutritional medicine at the University of Surrey and a leading researcher in selenium’s effects.
"They stabilised at this sub-optimal level in the mid-Nineties as our diets haven’t changed much since."
The problem is compounded by the fact that we import less foods from selenium-rich soils than ever before.
Soil in the U.S. has
higher levels of selenium due both to different geological conditions and the
fact that it’s generally more alkaline, allowing better uptake of nutrients by
plants.
Earlier this year, in a
paper published in The Lancet, she detailed selenium’s links to everything from
enhanced fertility and thyroid function to preventing plaque build-up in the
arteries, regulating blood pressure and reducing cancer risk.
Study Details
Bao and colleagues
analysed data from 75,680 women in the Nurses' Health Study, and examined the
association between nut consumption and pancreatic cancer risk. Nut consumption
was assessed at baseline and updated every 2 to 4 years.
During the follow up,
the team documented 466 incident cases of pancreatic cancer.
After adjusting for age,
height, smoking, physical activity, and total energy intake, women who consumed
a 28-g (1oz) serving size of nuts twice per week experienced a significantly
lower risk of pancreatic cancer, said Bao and colleagues - noting a relative
risk of 0.65 compared to those who did not eat nuts.
"The results did
not appreciably change after further adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and
history of diabetes mellitus," the team added - noting that the inverse
association persisted within strata defined by BMI, physical activity, smoking,
and intakes of red meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Source: PreventDisease
