Peanuts are a favorite snack for many people. They are crunchy, tasty, and often seen as a healthy option. But a new study from the University of Liverpool shows that peanuts might not be safe for everyone, especially people who have cancer. This study looked at a special protein in peanuts called peanut agglutinin, or PNA. When you eat peanuts, this protein can get into your blood. The researchers found that PNA can change how your blood vessels work. It causes your body to make more of certain chemicals called cytokines. Two of these chemicals, IL-6 and MCP-1, may help cancer spread. These chemicals can make the lining of your blood vessels more welcoming to cancer cells. This means that cancer cells can move around your body more easily. That is a big problem for someone who is trying to fight cancer. The same research team had already found out before that PNA sticks to special sugar chains. These sugar chains are more common on cancer cells. When PNA sticks to these cells, it makes them more likely to stick together and form groups. These groups of cancer cells can survive better in the blood. This helps the cancer spread to other parts of the body. This does not mean that peanuts are bad for everyone. For most people, eating peanuts is totally fine. But for people with cancer, eating peanuts often might increase the chance of the cancer spreading. That is why this research is important. The lead researcher, Lu-Gang Yu, says more studies are needed. We still need to learn more about how peanuts and cancer are connected. But this early research gives people with cancer something to think about. If you or someone you love is going through cancer treatment, it might be a good idea to eat fewer peanuts for now. It’s better to be careful, especially when your health is already at risk. This does not mean you need to avoid peanuts forever. But until more research is done, cutting back could be a smart choice. The study was published in a journal called Carcinogenesis. It was written in scientific language, but we explained it here in simple terms to help you understand the key points. Being aware of how food affects your body is a good step in taking care of your health. So, if you are fighting cancer and love peanuts, keep an eye out for future news on this topic. Making small changes in your diet might make a big difference in your recovery. If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and berry that can prevent cancer, diabetes, and obesity. For more health information, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
https://knowridge.com/2025/11/can-peanut-make-cancer-worse/
