Good news for everyone whose go-to afternoon snack is a handful of almonds.


Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found an association between nut consumption and decreased risk of pancreatic cancer in women.


Specifically, eating a one-ounce serving of nuts at least twice a week was associated with a lower risk of pancreatic cancer; the "reduction in risk was independent of established or suspected risk factors[1] for pancreatic cancer including age, height, obesity, physical activity, smoking, diabetes and dietary factors," study researcher Ying Bao, M.D., Sc.D., from the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.


The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer[2] , and researchers received funding from the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation. However, "the sponsors did not participate in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript," according to the study.


The study is based on data from 75,680 women who were part of the Nurses' Health Study, who had never had cancer before. Researchers analyzed their nut consumption, including tree nuts such as hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, walnuts, cashews, pistachios and almonds.


In addition to the decreased cancer risk, nut-eaters also tended to weigh less than the non-nut-eaters, researchers found.


Tree nut consumption has also been associated with decreased risks for heart disease[3] , metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. And one study even linked walnut consumption[4] with better semen quality for men.



Want to know how many nuts makes up a one-ounce serving? Fit Sugar has a handy guide here[5] .



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  • Boost Your Brain


    A <em>Journal of Alzheimer's Disease</em> study published earlier this year showed that <a href="http://iospress.metapress.com/content/w012188621153h61/fulltext.pdf" target="_hplink">eating walnuts</a> as part of a Mediterranean diet is linked with protection from brain functioning decline that occurs with aging.

    The study, conducted by Spanish researchers, included 447 people ages 55 to 80. Walnuts were linked with improved memory in the study participants, researchers found, but other kinds of nuts were not.




  • Lower Cholesterol


    Eating nuts -- including walnuts! -- could help to lower your cholesterol if you consume them daily, according to a 2010 study.

    WebMD reported on the study, published in the <em>Archives of Internal Medicine</em>, which showed that eating about 2.4 ounces of nuts a day is linked with 7.4 percent <a href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100510/eating-nuts-daily-lowers-cholesterol" target="_hplink">lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels</a> and 5.1 percent lower total cholesterol.




  • Might Decrease Breast Cancer Risk


    Marshall University researchers found that eating walnuts every day seemed to halve the risk of mice <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233894.php" target="_hplink">developing breast cancer</a>, Medical News Today reported.

    Their findings, published in the journal <em>Nutrition and Cancer</em>, showed that even in the <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233894.php" target="_hplink">mice fed walnuts</a> that <em>did</em> develop cancer, their tumors were smaller and fewer, according to Medical News Today.




  • Slow Down Prostate Cancer (In Mice)


    Mice engineered to develop prostate cancer that were fed diets high in fat, including walnuts, had <a href="http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57701/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Walnuts_slow_prostate_cancer_growth" target="_hplink">slower-growing tumors</a> than mice fed diets that were low in fat, Science News reported.

    The researchers for that study, who presented their findings in 2010 at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, said that a possible reason for this effect are the <a href="http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57701/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Walnuts_slow_prostate_cancer_growth" target="_hplink">omega-3 fatty acids</a> and alpha linolenic acids found in walnuts, Science News reported.




  • Chock Full Of Antioxidants


    Walnuts beat all the rest when it comes to maintaining a healthy ticker, according to a study presented last year the American Chemical Society.

    WebMD reported on the findings, conducted by researchers from the University of Scranton, which found that walnuts have <a href="http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20110328/walnut-may-be-top-nut-for-heart-health" target="_hplink">more antioxidants</a> than other nuts like cashews, hazelnuts, pecans and pistachios.

    "This study tells us something important about the <a href="http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20110328/walnut-may-be-top-nut-for-heart-health" target="_hplink">composition of walnuts</a>," Dr. David Katz, M.D., MPH, the director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, who was not involved with the study, told WebMD.




  • Health Benefits of Walnuts


    Flat Belly Diet creator Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD offers tips for adding tummy-flattening walnuts to your diet.