Tree Nuts May Reduce Cancer Risk

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common cancer in men worldwide.  Previously, a number of studies link increased nut consumption to reduced risks of obesity and type-2 diabetes – primary factors in colorectal cancer. Ying Bao, from Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues studied 75,680 women, free of cancer at the study’s start, enrolled  in the Nurses' Health Study.  Women who consumed a one-ounce serving of nuts, including tree nuts (such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts), two or more times per week had a 13% lower risk of colorectal cancer, as compared to those who rarely consumed nuts.