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Eating Peanut Butter Can Stop Cancer
Like me, you may be looking for
an excuse to eat peanut butter, and now we may have
found one! Beta-sitosterol, a phytosterol, has been
shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Simply a "natural chemical
found in plants," phytosterols can protect against
cancer through several proposed mechanisms such as
stopping cell division, stimulating cancer cells to
die an early death, and modifying hormones that tumor
cells need to sustain their growth.
In addition to beta-sitosterol,
other sterols found in plants include campesterol
and stigmasterol. Peanuts and peanut butter contain
significant quantities of the important beta-sitosterol
content. This particular sterol has been shown to
offer protection from the most common forms of cancer
we see today-breast, prostate, and colon cancer.
A study showed that there was a
marked decrease in tumor size and a significant decrease
in metastasis, or spread, of abnormal cells in animals
consuming increased amounts of phytosterols. Peanuts
and peanut butter also contain the plant chemical
resveratrol, which has been shown to be a protective
factor in reducing both cancer and heart disease.
Most commonly found in grapes, it is interesting to
note that you can also get resveratrol in smaller
amounts from peanut butter.
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