Eat Your Veggies?
Fruits, Veggies Don’t Stop Cancer Return: "CHICAGO—Hopes that a diet low in fat and chock-full of fruits and vegetables could prevent the return of breast cancer were dashed Tuesday by a large, seven-year experiment in more than 3,000 women."
(Via washingtonpost.com – Health.)
The article describes a study conducted over 7 years with 3,000+ breast cancer survivors. What the study found was that the proportion of women who passed away or whose cancer returned was not influenced by the fact that they ate an extra dose of veggies. However, the article does note that the important part of healthy living if not veggies might actually be weight.
These days healthy living has become a cure-all. Don’t get me wrong, eating healthy and exercising is an important part of a good-productive life but when it becomes THE focus for all health issues it becomes a tautology (To live healthy is to be healthy). Even worse it can be misleading and in some cases an unfair accusation.
When I was undergoing radiation therapy, after having endured 6 months of chemotherapy, I met with a nutritionalist as part of my treatment. She was big on the veggies, so much so, that she implied that the fact I had cancer was because of my nutrition. I think her true motivation was green. Eating less meat is more eco savy.
Perhaps it is because I do science for a living that I was actually insulted more by the simplicity of her causal explanation then by the assertion that the cause of my cancer was under my control. So, like any good researcher I went to find the facts. From the research I did back then (should go dig up the links) I found that only in a few cancers was there evidence that nutrition MIGHT play a role. In truth, the molecular story behind how veggies are converted into cancer repellent is rather weak and unsubstantiated.
Of course when being treat for cancer it is important to eat well enough to keep your body running and capable of handling the treatments. But here calories are just, if not more, important then veggies.
Yes, yes by all means eat your veggies but don’t mistake that with health.
