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Is Cancer Link to Diet Just a Myth?

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 18:00 CDT

By JULIE WHELDON

THERE is little evidence that a healthy diet will lower your risk of getting cancer, a group of experts claimed yesterday.

It might well improve your general health. And it will probably reduce your chances of contracting heart disease, they said.

But when it comes to cancer there is little conclusive proof that a diet rich in fibre, fish, fruit and vegetables, but low in saturated fats, will lower the risk of falling victim.

The claims are likely to prove highly controversial. Previous studies have suggested eating certain foods can lower cancer risks, with broccoli said to be effective against bladder cancer, and tomatoes effective against pancreatic cancer.

But a group of respected U.S.

experts told the New York Times yesterday the public should be told there is little proof so far a good diet will actually prevent the disease.

They highlighted studies which had failed to show eating less fat reduced the risk of breast cancer or that a highfibre diet could cut the chances of bowel cancer two areas where there had been strong belief in a link.

One in three Britons will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime and rates are rising as people live longer. British charities all back UK Government advice to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

But Dr Barnett Kramer, of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., said of the healthy eating message: 'A lot of the public is completely unaware that the strength of the message is not matched by the strength of the evidence.' Dr Tim Byers, of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, took part in research to prove that up to 20 per cent of cancer may be caused by diet.

He admitted: 'The truth may be that particular food choices are not as important as I thought they were.' Dr Meir Stampfer, of the Harvard School of Public Health, said scientists had begun studies based on reasonable theories that particular foods affected the chances of contracting particular cancers.

But, he said, as the results came in, many researchers were surprised because there was no definitive evidence of such links.

Dr Arthur Schatzkin, of the National Cancer Institute, said his organisation had financed two major pieces of research to see if a high-fibre diet increased protection against colon cancer.

'We had high expectations,' Dr Schatzkin said. But, he added, 'we got absolutely nil results.' In Britain yesterday, Henry Scowcroft, of Cancer Research UK, said those who eat a good diet tend to lead healthy lifestyles anyway which can make it very difficult to tease out the exact relationship between our health and food.

' Nevertheless, research suggests that a significant proportion of cancers are linked to diet,' he said.

The'super foods'

A HUGE body of research has built up in recent years linking diet and specific foods to the risks of developing cancer.

Scientists at Liverpool University asserted that a diet rich in leafy green vegetables can almost halve the risk of colon cancer.

Other studies have suggested women who eat a lot of green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli can cut their risk of breast cancer by 40 per cent.

In America, researchers also claimed that a compound in broccoli can slow down the rate at which bladder cancer cells grow. This month another team of researchers claimed that a vegan diet rich in fruit, vegetables, soya and beans, could help reverse the progress of prostate cancer.

Studies have suggested that eating fish regularly can reduce the risk of colon cancer by up to 30 per cent.

And this summer olive oil was credited with helping to ward off various forms of the disease.

Studies have also suggested that a chemical in tomatoes called lycopene could help prevent cancer of the pancreas if eaten regularly.

On the negative side, it has long been held by oncologists that eating lots of red and processed meat heightens the risk of bowel cancer.

Source: Daily Mail; London (UK)

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