Peanuts are a favorite snack for many people. They’re crunchy, tasty, and often praised for being healthy. But if you or someone you know is dealing with cancer, a new study suggests it might be time to think twice before grabbing a handful.
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have been studying how peanuts interact with the human body, especially in people who have cancer. Their research has uncovered something surprising: a protein found in peanuts might make it easier for cancer to spread.
The protein is called Peanut agglutinin, or PNA for short. When you eat peanuts, this protein can enter your bloodstream. Once it’s there, PNA seems to trigger your body to produce certain chemicals called cytokines. These are small proteins that help control how your body responds to infections or injuries — but in this case, some of them might actually do more harm than good.
Two cytokines, in particular, were found to increase after peanut consumption: IL-6 and MCP-1. These two can make the inner lining of your blood vessels more “welcoming” to cancer cells. This means that cancer cells might have an easier time sticking to blood vessel walls and spreading to other parts of the body.
This isn’t the first time the same team of researchers has looked into how peanuts affect cancer. In an earlier study, they discovered that the PNA protein also sticks to certain sugar molecules found on the surface of cancer cells. This makes the cancer cells clump together, almost like they’re coated in sticky Velcro.
These clumps are harder for the body to break apart, which allows them to survive longer in the bloodstream. And when cancer cells can survive and move easily, the chances of the disease spreading to new areas — something called metastasis — go up.
So what does this all mean for people who love peanuts?
The researchers are not saying that peanuts are dangerous for everyone. For healthy people, eating peanuts in normal amounts is still considered safe and can even offer health benefits. But if you have cancer, or are recovering from it, eating large amounts of peanuts might not be the best idea.
The scientists say more research is needed to fully understand how much of a risk peanuts pose to people with cancer. Their study focused on how peanut proteins affect the body in lab settings, so they still need to explore what happens in real-life situations over time. That said, the findings are worth considering if you or someone close to you is fighting cancer.
The lead researcher, Professor Lu-Gang Yu, published these results in a medical journal called Carcinogenesis. His team believes this information could help doctors and patients make better food choices during cancer treatment.
So, should cancer patients stop eating peanuts completely? Not necessarily — but it might be a good idea to eat them less often or talk to a doctor or dietitian about whether peanuts are a good fit for your current health needs.
We don’t have all the answers yet, but the research raises important questions. And when it comes to serious illnesses like cancer, being informed can help people make better decisions about their diet and overall care.
If you care about cancer, please read studies about common drugs for inflammation may help kill cancer, and statin drugs can starve cancer cells to death.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about these two things are key to surviving cancer and results showing common Indian fruit may slow down cancer growth.
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