Teenage girls who eat peanut butter twice a week 'reduce their risk of breast lumps by 39%'

Note that is only BENIGN breast lumps that appeared to be reduced!  Mention of cancer reduction is not warranted

Teenage girls who regularly eat peanuts are 39 per cent less likely to develop benign breast disease by the age of 30.

Some benign breast diseases, while noncancerous, increases the risk of breast cancer later in life.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard Medical School found the link was particularly strong in girls who ate peanuts when they were between the ages of nine and 15.

‘These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women,’ said senior author Dr Graham Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Centre at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

The researchers studied 9,039 U.S. girls between 1996 and 2001, and then again between 2005 and 2010 when they were 18 to 30-years-old.

They found that the participants who ate peanut butter or nuts twice each week were 39 per cent less likely to develop benign breast disease than those who never ate them.

The study’s findings also suggest that beans, lentils, soybeans and corn also may help prevent benign breast disease, but consumption of these foods was much lower in these girls meaning the evidence was weaker.

Past studies have linked peanut butter and nut and vegetable fat consumption to a lower risk of benign breast disease.

However, participants in those studies were asked to recall their teenage food intake years later.

This new study is the first to use reports made during adolescence with continued follow-ups.

About 80 per cent of all breast lumps are benign, or noncancerous, and they are considered to be benign breast diseases.  These lumps tend to be moveable and smooth and are often found in both breasts.

They can be caused by benign breast changes, breast infections or injury and medications such as birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.

Previous research by the Shanghai Cancer Institute suggested that eating peanuts - and other foods rich in Vitamin E - could cut the risk of liver cancer.  It also found that Vitamin-E rich foods, such as peanuts, can protect against heart disease and eye damage in old age.

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The great superfood U-turn: Feasting on salmon and nuts may NOT preserve brainpower after all

Eating oily fish has long been hailed as a way to keep brains active and cut the risk of a stroke.  But now U.S. scientists believe eating the fish and nuts might not act as a brain boost after all.

Contrary to previous research, the latest suggests that omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish such as salmon and in nuts, may not halt the decline in brainpower.

Study author Eric Ammann of the University of Iowa, said: 'There has been a lot of interest in omega-3s as a way to prevent or delay cognitive decline, but unfortunately our study did not find a protective effect in older women.  'In addition, most randomised trials of omega-3 supplements have not found an effect.

'However, we do not recommend that people change their diet based on these results.

Past studies have credited oily fish with the ability to cut post-natal depression, reduce the risk of Altzheimer's disease and diabetes, stroke and arthritis as well as help children perform better in exams and even add two years' to a person's life expectancy.

Mr Ammann said: 'Researchers continue to study the relationship between omega-3s and the health of the heart, blood vessels and brain.  'We know that fish and nuts can be healthy alternatives to red meat and full-fat dairy products, which are high in saturated fats.'

The study, published in the journal Neurology, involved 2,157 women age 65 to 80 who were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative clinical trials of hormone therapy.

The women were given annual tests of thinking and memory skills for an average of six years.  Blood tests were taken to measure the amount of omega-3s in the participants' blood before the start of the study.

The researchers found no difference between the women with high and low levels of omega-3s in the blood at the time of the first memory tests.  There was also no difference between the two groups in how fast their thinking skills declined over time.

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