Run to Buy: Why You Must Add Walnuts to Your Diet

According to a new American study, beyond the health benefits contained in walnuts, they have the ability to slow the growth of colon cancer, the second most common cancer among men and women in Israel.

A research team from Harvard University discovered that a daily diet including walnuts can slow colon cancer growth by altering the genes of the cancer. This study examines whether consumption of nuts causes changes in micro-ribonucleic acids.

In the study, published in the scientific journal Nutritional Biochemistry, mice were divided into two groups. The first group was fed a predetermined diet in corn oil, while the second group consumed the same diet with an addition of about 57 grams of walnuts per day. The researchers found that after 25 days, the group on the walnut diet had smaller colon tumors compared to the control group. Tumor tissues contained 10 times more omega-3 fatty acids and other acids, including alpha-linolenic acid ALA, than the control group.

Since the mice that received walnuts had higher expression levels of nucleic acids, it was found that dietary changes can effect changes on the spread of certain cancer types because these acids influence cancerous cells. According to researchers' belief, about half of colon cancer cases can be prevented with diet, healthy weight, and activity, potentially preventing many deaths worldwide.