Peanuts are a popular snack. Many people enjoy their crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
They’re also seen as a healthy food because they contain good fats, protein, and fiber. But for people who have cancer, a new study suggests that eating peanuts might not be such a good idea.
Scientists from the University of Liverpool have been studying how peanuts affect the human body. They’ve found something unexpected — a protein in peanuts might actually help cancer spread in the body. This protein is called Peanut agglutinin, or PNA.
When people eat peanuts, PNA can get into the bloodstream. Once it’s there, it seems to cause the body to make certain chemicals called cytokines. Cytokines are tiny proteins that help the body deal with infections or injuries.
But in this case, two cytokines that increased after eating peanuts — IL-6 and MCP-1 — might actually make it easier for cancer cells to travel through the body.
These cytokines can change the lining of blood vessels and make it easier for cancer cells to stick to them. This means that cancer might be able to move from one part of the body to another more easily. This process is called metastasis, and it’s one of the main reasons why cancer can become so dangerous.
This isn’t the first time the researchers looked into peanuts and cancer. In an earlier study, they found that the PNA protein sticks to certain sugar-like molecules on the surface of cancer cells. When this happens, the cancer cells clump together like sticky balls.
These clumps are harder for the body to break apart, and they can survive longer in the blood. This also increases the chance that cancer can spread.
So what should people do with this information? The scientists are not saying that peanuts are harmful to everyone. For people who are healthy, eating peanuts in normal amounts is still safe and may even be good for your health. But if someone has cancer or is recovering from it, it might be wise to limit peanut intake.
The study was led by Professor Lu-Gang Yu and was published in the medical journal Carcinogenesis. His team says more research is needed to fully understand how peanuts affect people with cancer over time.
Most of their findings came from lab studies, not from watching real people over long periods. But their work raises some important questions that doctors and cancer patients may want to think about.
This doesn’t mean cancer patients need to give up peanuts forever. But it might be smart to eat them less often, or to ask a doctor or dietitian for advice. Everyone’s situation is different, and food choices during cancer treatment can have a big impact.
The science is still developing, but learning about this connection between peanuts and cancer spread can help people make better choices for their health. When it comes to serious diseases like cancer, even small changes in diet might make a difference.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
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