In addition to potentially lowering the risk of cancer to begin with, findings from a 2018 observational study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggested that nut consumption may also impact cancer recurrence and survival rates of certain site-specific cancers — specifically, colon cancer. Researchers analyzed the diets of more than 800 patients who had been treated for stage III colon cancer.
Following up with patients an average of 6.5 years later, the study findings revealed that those who ate a minimum of two servings of nuts weekly were less susceptible to cancer recurrence and cancer mortality compared to people who reported that they do not eat nuts. The twist? These findings were specific only to tree nuts. That comes out to a helping of approximately 36 cashews weekly that may benefit patients with colon cancer (via Reuters). What’s more, compared to individuals who were not nut-eaters, patients who consumed over two servings of tree nuts weekly had a 42% reduced risk of cancer recurrence and 57% lower risk of mortality.
