Nut and peanut butter intake and the risk of colorectal cancer and its anatomical and molecular subtypes: the Netherlands Cohort Study

Year Published: 2020

Journal

Carcinogenesis

Authors

Lisette Nieuwenhuis, Colinda C J M Simons, Matty P Weijenberg, Piet A van den Brandt

Methods

This population study looked at the associations between nut/peanut butter consumption and colorectal cancer in a Netherlands population.

Key Findings

Key Findings: Results were mixed. They showed that peanut and peanut butter intake were associated with reduced risk of rectal cancer in both men and women. There were some colorectal tumor subtypes however, that were increased in men with peanut butter, but the beneficial results seemed to come from rectal cancer. The authors note that the result for peanut butter may likely be because in 1986 (when the data was collected), peanut butter in the Netherlands was nutritionally suboptimal. Also, the analysis on cancer subtypes was done in small groups of people, so the results should be interpreted cautiously. Therefore, more studies are warranted in this area.