A new study presented the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting found that men and women diagnosed with colon cancer who eat one type of snack food improve their overall survival by a whopping 57 percent compared to those who don’t eat this snack.
The new study followed 826 patients with stage III colon cancer for seven years. Beyond stages I and II, which are less difficult to treat, stage III cancer requires more aggressive medical measures.
Snack food does wonders for survival rates
The researchers found that patients who ate at least two servings of nuts per week experienced an amazing 42 percent improvement in disease-free survival (no recurrence) compared to those who did not eat nuts. They also experienced a 57 percent improvement in overall survival compared to those who ate no nuts.
Could it be as simple as just eating a handful of nuts?
Yes. It appears so.
The researchers observed these benefits for eating tree nuts (like almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts), but not for peanuts or peanut butter.
That finding isn’t too surprising. Most peanut butter manufacturers load their products with sugar — which feeds cancer cells — and other unhealthy additives. In addition, prepared peanuts often contain other artificial ingredients, although the report did not specify those factors.
A previous, large, observational study, from the New England Journal of Medicine, that I reported in 2013, found similar results. In that study, people who ate nuts every day were 11 percent less likely to die from cancer.
Furthermore, the survival benefits of eating nuts were not influenced by other risk factors for colon cancer, such as certain common genetic factors often implicated in the disease.
Of course, many other healthy habits can help reduce the risk of colon cancer, such as:
-moderate physical activity
-maintaining a healthy weight
-avoiding sugar and sweetened beverages
-drinking three to four cups coffee per day
-daily low-dose aspirin for heart health
Evidence doesn’t support natural meat and colon cancer connection
The mainstream likes to talk about cutting meat intake to reduce colon cancer risk. But the evidence supporting this advice isn’t really there.
In fact, when you dig deep into the latest study, it shows that eating processed meat (whether red or white) increases cancer risk. But eating natural, unprocessed meat increases longevity.
Again, this finding makes sense, as research universally shows that eating seafood helps you avoid cancer and other chronic diseases. And the basic nutrient composition of fresh, unprocessed, organic red meat, white meat, and seafood are all similar in terms of their constituents. (Vitamin D may be a key, since it is present in meats, dairy and seafood, but not in plants. I’ll explain more about the strong link between vitamin D and colon cancer survival in Friday’s Daily Dispatch.)
Another recent study emphasized that it’s even more important to get more healthy foods in a balanced diet than it is just to avoid unhealthy foods. (You can learn more about this study in this month’s Insiders’ Cures newsletter. If you’re not yet a subscriber, now is the perfect time to get started.)
Foods contain naturally occurring combinations of vitamins, minerals and other anti-cancer constituents. Since research shows many healthy foods reduce the risk of cancer and prevent development of the disease, it is high time that scientists looked at the ability of foods to improve survival in patients with cancer as well.
Almost 40 years ago, I began making the case for studying multiple nutrients all together, as found in foods in Nature, instead of stubbornly testing nutrients only one at a time. People eat foods — not nutrients.
I told everyone who would listen, including my bosses at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and others. I warned that taking the one-at-a-time approach might take another 40 years to “win” the government “war on cancer.”
But the experts on the National Cancer Advisory Board, led by the grand, old man of Philadelphia surgery, Jonathan Rhoads, insisted on testing nutrients one-at-a-time, as if they were drugs. I said that NCI was on the wrong road, and that Dr. Rhoads was wrong, all along. And lo and behold, here we are today.
Thousands of studies, published over the last several decades, show that certain foods and nutrients can significantly reduce the risk of all types of cancer and prevent development of the disease. And more recent research shows certain natural remedies and regimens can even reverse cancer.
I cover all of these foods and nutrients in detail in my new Authentic Anti-Cancer Protocol. In fact, this online learning resource gives you all the tools you need to naturally prevent and reverse cancer. You can learn more about it or enroll today by clicking here.
I’ll tell you more about the latest research on the health benefits of nuts in an upcoming edition of the Daily Dispatch — so stay tuned!
Source:
“Chance of Colon Cancer Recurrence Nearly Cut in Half in People Who Eat Nuts,” (www.asco.org) 5/17/2017