Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH
This week, a little bombshell went off in nutrition news when Associated Press reported that a low-fat diet high in Fruit and veggies was shown to be ineffective in preventing the recurrence of breast cancer.
What a bad example of a misleading report.
In this article, reporter Carla Johnson says that “Hopes that a diet low in fat and chock full of fruits and vegetables could prevent the return of breast cancer were dashed by a “large seven year experiment involving more than 3000 women”. She sites research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA.
A 50% Decrease in Breast Cancer Recurrence Went Unreported
The biggest problem with this Associated Press report failed to mention that this same large seven-year experiment showed that there was “Greater survival after breast cancer in physically active women with high vegetable-fruit intake regardless of obesity” in a report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology*. This same study showed a near 50% reduction in recurrence of breast cancer in women who ate more fruit and vegetables and exercised regularly.
Why the confusion?
The latest report presents a comparison between two groups who improved their diets by eating more fruit and vegetables. One group was given recommendations to eat “five a day” servings of fruit and vegetables. This group was compared to a group recommended to eat a low fat diet (15 to 20% fat) and consume 8 servings of fruit and vegetables along with 16 oz of vegetable juice and 30 gm of fiber. What they found was no difference between these two groups in terms of recurrence of breast cancer.
A major flaw in the study is that the “mega veggie” group did not really follow the diet as prescribed and fat intake was not very low. The other problem is that the comparison group also improved their diet in the direction of more fruits and vegetables. The net effect of this is a study that doesn’t show much difference between the health of groups that both improve their diet. In other words, the difference in the eating patterns between the two groups was as big as it should have been. Thus, it should not be surprising that researchers could not find a difference between these two groups.
It really only shows that if people don’t follow the recommendations, they won’t see much improvement. And if they do follow the recommendations of increased fruit and vegetables and exercise – they may have a substantial reduction in their risk of breast cancer recurrence – as much as 50% or more. At least that is what this study says in the earlier report from this same study.
To me, based on both these reports, the one in JAMA and the one in Journal of Clinical Oncology, its thumbs up for more fruits & vegetables and exercise, and thumbs down for misleading reporting.
*J of Clinical Oncology 2007 Jun 10;25(17):2345-51
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Greg Gerber, MD and the New EES Cell Energy Enhancement System
Click the audio button below to hear about other effects of EES with Dr. Gerber on "Healing and You" Radio with host Dr. Shintani
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