Peanuts are a popular snack for many people. They taste great, have a nice crunch, and are often talked about as a healthy food choice.
However, a new study from the University of Liverpool has shared some information that might be important for people who love peanuts, especially those who are dealing with cancer.
This research looks at a certain protein in peanuts, called Peanut agglutinin (PNA). When you eat peanuts, this protein gets into your blood.
The scientists found that PNA can mess with how your blood vessels work. This leads to your body making certain chemicals, named cytokines. Two of these chemicals, IL-6 and MCP-1, might help cancer spread in the body.
Here’s the reason: these chemicals make the inside walls of your blood vessels more inviting to cancer cells. This means cancer can move more easily from one place to another in the body, which is bad news for someone fighting cancer.
In earlier studies, this team found that PNA acts kind of like velcro for cancer cells. It sticks to special sugar chains that you find more often on cancer and pre-cancer cells.
This stickiness makes the cancer cells clump together. These clumps can then survive better in the bloodstream, which is a common way for cancer to move to new parts of the body.
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to stop eating peanuts altogether. The researchers aren’t saying peanuts are bad for everyone.
For most people, peanuts are still a fine snack. But, for those who have cancer, eating peanuts a lot could make it easier for the cancer to spread.
If you or someone you know is fighting cancer, it might be a good idea to eat fewer peanuts for now.
The research team, led by Lu-Gang Yu, says there’s still much more to learn about how eating peanuts affects cancer spreading.
They want more research to better understand the risks. So, while we don’t have all the answers yet, it’s something to think about if you’re going through cancer treatment and like peanuts.
Their findings are published in a science journal called Carcinogenesis. We’ve shared their information in simple terms here because knowing more about your health helps you make smarter choices.
Stay tuned for more updates, especially if you’re dealing with cancer and enjoy peanuts. Being well-informed helps you make the best decisions for your health and happiness.
If you care about cancer risk, please read studies that exercise may stop cancer in its tracks, and vitamin D can cut cancer death risk.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies that yogurt and high-fiber diet may cut lung cancer risk, and results showing that new cancer treatment may reawaken the immune system.
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