Volume 18 Issue 1
Peanut Butter and Peanuts
Reduce the Risk of Breast
Disease in Young Women
P
eanuts and peanut butter have long been favorite foods for many
kids growing up, and new research is showing that young girls
who consume peanut butter or peanuts at least twice a week
decreased their risk of breast disease later in life by up to 39%.1
“These findings suggest that peanut butter could help
reduce the risk of breast cancer in women,”
What is BBD?
The study looked at girls aged 9 to 15 who filled out dietary recalls; ten years
later, researchers examined which participants had been diagnosed with benign
breast disease (BBD) and compared this to their reported dietary intakes. It was
found that peanut butter and nuts were more significant than any other food looked
at in reducing the risk of BBD. In fact, peanut butter and nuts were so significant, they
drove positive results for total vegetable protein intake and total vegetable fat intake,
meaning there is something special about peanuts as a source of plant protein
and healthy fats. Girls who had a family history of breast cancer had the strongest
results, with benefits of peanut butter and peanut intake seen before and after the
onset of menses.
Benign breast disease refers to
noncancerous disorders that
can affect the breast in adolescents. Although BBD is not
cancer, research indicates BBD,
particularly proliferative BBD
(P-BBD), is a well-established
risk factor as a marker of a
proliferative state of the breast
that is considered an early indicator that cancer may develop
in the breast.4,5
said Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, senior author and associate director for cancer
prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and
Washington University School of Medicine.
Although peanuts are grouped in with all nuts in the study, it is likely peanuts
were the driving factor due to the fact that the majority of nuts consumed in
the U.S. are peanuts.2 In addition, previous research has shown that women
who had at least one serving of peanuts per week decreased their
risk of proliferative BBD (P-BBD), by one-third. Results were similar
for all nuts, but other nuts required twice the serving amount to
have the same effects as peanuts.3 P-BBD is the type of BBD most
strongly associated with increased risk of breast cancer.
BBD has shown to be a strong risk factor for breast cancer, comparable to
family history, and research continues to show that focusing on prevention
at younger ages is critical for reduced risk of disease. Breast development at
adolescent years and changes in hormonal environment make adolescence
a critical time period for reducing risk of breast cancer with improved dietary
choices, such as including peanut butter or peanuts twice a week.
© 2013 The Peanut Institute
www.peanut-institute.org
of the Peanut Package
The Power
S
cientists and health professionals
are moving away from looking at
individual nutrients and instead
look at whole foods or overall dietary
patterns in their relation to health and
research continues to show that there
is something special about peanuts.
Peanuts and peanut butter are packed
full of nutrition including many hard to
get nutrients, plant-protein, healthy oils,
fiber, and many bioactives; all of these
components work together to create one
special nut that can not only help manage
of vegetable proteins including beans,
lentils, and soy, and none were significant
in reducing risk, except peanut butter
and peanuts.
Healthy Oils
Peanuts and peanut butter are a good
source of vegetable fats, contain high
amounts of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and are very low in saturated
fats.6 Research shows that animal fat
consumption is associated with a 33%
“Studies have indicated that phytosterols inhibit colon
cancer cells, prostate cancer cells, and breast cancer
cells. Peanut snacks and peanut butter, in addition to
peanut oil, offer a unique tool to increase phytosterols in
the American diet.” Atif Awad
weight, but can significantly reduce the
risk of disease in people of all ages.6-9
All you need to get these great benefits
is a handful of peanuts or a spoonful of
peanut butter once a day, and it shouldn’t
be hard to get your daily dose when
peanuts are the most affordable nut and a
lifelong favorite food.
Peanut Protein
Peanuts contain more protein than
any other nut6 and are one of the most
commonly consumed plant-proteins in
the U.S.2,4 Previous studies have shown
that plant based diets are associated
with decreased risk of disease including breast, colon, and prostate cancer.10
Newer research shows that cumulative
vegetable protein intake, mainly due to
peanut butter and peanuts, decreased
the risk of BBD in 14-year-old girls.1
Researchers looked at many sources
Something
Special About
Peanuts
Peanuts and peanut butter
are packed full of nutritional
components that work together
to help signifiicantly reduce the
risk of disease in people of all
ages.6-9
increased risk for P-BBD, whereas vegetable fat consumption in young women
accounted for a 27% reduced risk.11
More recent research indicates that
vegetable fat may actually be protective.
Cumulative vegetable fat intake, mainly
due to peanut butter and peanuts, was
shown to decrease the risk of BBD in 11year old girls by up to 44%. 1
Cancer Fighting Compounds
Peanut butter and peanuts contain
compounds called phytosterols.10
Phytosterols are similar in structure to
cholesterol, but are not absorbed by the
body, allowing them to block the absorption of cholesterol from your diet. In
addition to their heart health properties,
emerging evidence is showing that they
also decrease inflammation and reduce
the growth of various cancers including prostate, colon, and breast cancer.10
?
Phytosterols protect against cancer
several ways, including inhibiting cell
division, stimulating tumor cell death and
modifying some of the hormones that are
essential to tumor growth.
Peanuts and peanut butter also contain
resveratrol, a compound that has been
associated with prolonged life and
reduced risk of many diseases, including
cancer.12
Did you know
Peanuts are a good source of fiber and vitamin E, which have both shown to
protect against breast cancer. In one study high fiber intake was associated with
a 25% decreased risk of P-BBD, and vitamin E was shown to have significant
protective effects.11
© 2013 The Peanut Institute
www.peanut-institute.org
Peanuts are a Great After School
Snack
Kids and Adolescents
for
S
tudies from the Family Lifestyle and Overweight
(FLOW) Prevention Program, conducted by Baylor
College of Medicine and the United States Department
of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS)
Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, have
shown that peanut butter and peanuts can improve weight
maintenance, decrease cholesterol, and improve nutrient intake
in kids and adolescents.13-16 FLOW is an in-school weight management and prevention program focusing on behavioral and
dietary changes in kids and adolescents. Adolescence represents a critical time for health intervention and schools are
in a unique position to educate students and promote healthy
eating behaviors.
According to the CDC, 18.4% of adolescents are classified as
obese.15 One of the biggest contributors to overweight and
obesity in children and adolescents is increased snacking from
high calorie, high carbohydrate, high sugar, and salty snacks.
Alone, snacking accounts for almost 25% of daily calories for
the average individual, with 40% of people reporting 3-4 snacks
per day. In addition, increased snacking interferes with meal
intake, specifically breakfast and lunch among children.16-18
In the FLOW studies, children often skipped school meals,
only eating the low nutrient, high calorie, afternoon snacks
often provided at the school. Researchers
offered peanuts and peanut butter as a
“…adolescents who ate peanuts had lower zBMIs,
healthy alternative and kids were not only
receptive to the change, but adolescents
higher nutrient intakes, increased vegetable inwho ate peanuts had lower zBMIs, higher
take, lower total cholesterol, and were less hungry
nutrient intakes, increased vegetable in12-14
throughout the day. ”
take, lower total cholesterol, and were less
hungry throughout the day.13-14 Peanuts also
had an effect on long-term weight maintenance. Kids who ate
peanuts as an after school snack not only lost more weight than
kids who did not, but also maintained weight loss for up to two
years later.13
Peanut Butter: The Perfect Veggie Dip.
Pairing vegetables with a tasty dip is a common practice among caretakers to get kids to eat more
vegetables, but the quality of the dip can play a major role in improving overall nutrient intake.
Research shows that kids who dip their vegetables in peanut butter actually consume more vegetables and increased the variety of vegetables eaten.11 This was seen even in “vegetable resistant”
children. In addition, a new study shows that salad dressings were not associated with decreased risk
of BBD, whereas peanut butter was.1 Pairing vegetables with a nutrient-rich dip like peanut butter
instead of salad dressing is an effective, simple strategy for children and adolescents that helps build
positive eating habits, increases vegetable intake, and may contribute to healthier lifestyles and
chronic disease reduction.
© 2013 The Peanut Institute
www.peanut-institute.org
Kid-Friendly Peanut Butter
& Banana Roll Ups
Ingredients
• 1 banana, peeled
• 2 Tbs peanut butter
• 1 whole wheat tortilla
Preparation
1. Place tortilla on a flat surface and spread
2 tbsp of peanut butter to evenly coat.
2. Place the banana near the edge of the
tortilla and roll it up.
3. Slice into 1/2 inch rounds and serve.
*Try adding other fruits or jam for a variety of
flavors.
Recipe and photo adapted from weelicious.com
References
1.Colditz, et al. Vegetable protein and vegetable
fat intakes in pre-adolescent and adolescent
girls, and risk for benign breast disease in
young women. Breast Cancer Research and
Treatment. 2013; 141(2):299-306.
2.ERS-USDA. Food Consumption and Demand:
Food Consumption. 2012. Available: www.ers.
usda.gov/data/foodconsumption
3.Su X, Tamimi RM, Collins LC, Baer HJ, Cho E, Sampson L et al. Intake of fiber and nuts
during adolescence and incidence of proliferative benign breast disease. 2010 Cancer
Causes Control 21:1033–1046.
4.Neinstein LS. Breast disease in adolescents
and young women. Pediatr Clin North Am.
1999;46:607–629.
5.Frazier, Rosenberg. Preadolescent and Adolescent Risk Factors for Benign Breast Disease.
Journal of Adolescent Health. 2013;52:S36S40.
6.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural
Research Service. 2009, USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release
25. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page,
http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl.
7.Sabaté J, Ang Y. Nuts and health outcomes:
new epidemiologic evidence. Am J Clin Nutr.
2009;89(5):1643S-1648S.
8.González CA, and Jordi Salas-Salvadó. The
potential of nuts in the prevention of cancer.
British Journal of Nutrition. 2006;96:S87-S94.
9.Mattes RD, Kris-Etherton PM, Foster GD. Impact of peanuts and tree nuts on body weight
and healthy weight loss in adults. J Nutr.
2008 Sep;138(9):1741S-1745S.
10.Awad. Peanuts as a Source of Beta-Sitosterol,
a Sterol With Anticancer Properties. Nutrition
and Cancer. 2000;36(2), 238–241.
11.Baer HJ, Schnitt SJ, Connolly JL, et al. Adolescent diet and incidence of proliferative benign
breast disease. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2003;12:1159-67.
12.Sanders, TH, et al. Occurrence of resveratrol
in edible peanuts. J Agricult Food Chem.
2000;48:1243-1246.
13.Johnston, et al. increasing Vegetable intake in
Mexican-american Youth: a Randomized Controlled trial. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:716720.
14.Johnston, et al. Weight loss in overweight
Mexican American children: a randomized,
controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2007;120(6):e14507.
15.Johnston, et al. Effects of a school-based
weight maintenance program for MexicanAmerican children: results at 2 years. Obesity.
2009;18(3):542-7.
17.Fryar, et al. Prevalence of Obesity Among
Children and Adolescents: United States,
Trends 1963-1965 Through 2009-2010. CDC,
NCHS Health E-Stat. 2012. Available: http://
www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_
child_09_10/obesity_child_09_10.htm
18.Moshfegh, A. The Snack Generation: Diets of
Children Today. USDA-ARS WWEIA. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research
Center, Food Surveys Research Group (Beltsville, MD) and U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, National Center for Health
Statistics (Hyattsville, MD). What We Eat in
America, NHANES 2001-2004 (Unpublished
data presented at The Peanut Institute Educational Tour, 2009). From: http://www.ars.usda.
gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=15044.
19.Piernas C, Popkin BM. Trends in snacking
among U.S. children. Health AFF (Millwood).
2010 Mar-Apr;29(3):398-404.
20.NFCS 1977-78; WWEIA, NHANES 2005-06;
WWEIA, 2009-10 WWEIA, NHANES; 1 day; 9-12
year olds.
16.Johnston, et al. Peanut consumption in adolescents is associated with improved weight
status. Nutrition Research. 2013;33(7):552556.
The Peanut Institute is a non-profit organization that supports nutrition
Volume 18 Issue 1
research and develops educational programs to encourage healthy lifestyles.
TEL: 1-888-8PEANUT
www.peanut-institute.org
© 2013 The Peanut Institute
www.peanut-institute.org