Munching on 'nuts' can keep some types of cancer at bay

Love munching on nuts? You can happily keep doing so as a new study has found that nut consumption could reduce risk of some cancers.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 36 observational studies (which included 30,708 patients) on the disease-preventive powers of nut consumption to create a comprehensive analysis.

The authors concluded: "nut consumption was inversely associated with risk of colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, and pancreatic cancer, but not with other types of cancer or type 2 diabetes. Overall, nut intake was associated with a decreased risk of cancer."

Lead author of the study, Lang Wu said that this was the first systematic review and meta-analysis study estimating the association between nut intake and risk of cancers.

Aligning with the known beneficial effect of nuts on heart diseases, their study may imply that individuals interested in making better food choices to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease can consider consuming nuts, after considering the caloric and fat contents of different types of nuts, added the researcher.

The study is published in Nutrition Reviews.