You just need to try harder.
Submitted by Dr.Kattlove’s Cancer Blog
What does it take to prevent cancer? We know some of this stuff – stop smoking, and live a healthy life style. One of the components of a healthy lifestyle is a healthy diet. But although we all suspect a healthy diet can lower your cancer risk, it has been hard to prove.
Now we have some proof! About 15 years ago The National Cancer Institute started a study called the Polyp Prevention Trial. We know that polyps are the first step to getting colorectal cancer. So, if we can prevent polyp formation, we can prevent cancer.
There were about 2000 people in the study. All had been diagnosed with polyps in their colon and these had been cut out. Half the patients (about 1000) were put on a special diet, high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat. The other 1000 people were told to eat whatever they want. All the patients received another colonoscopy at the first year to make sure all their polyps had been removed. Then another colonoscopy was performed after 4 years to look for new ones.
The study was a flop. The “special diet” folks developed as many polyps as the “eat whatever” group. The problem was, as you can guess, it is hard to stick to a diet – even one with a lot of fruits and veggies. It turned out that many of the “special diet” patients were not compliant with their diet.
But researchers have gone back and reanalyzed the data. They found that in the large group of 1000 assigned to the special diet, there were 210 people they called “super compliant”. They stuck to their diet and guess what – had 35% fewer polyps. The whole study is still a failure because overall, diet as a form of cancer prevention doesn’t work for the general population – people can’t stick to diets.
But, if you can do it, a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat may keep you out of the surgeon’s hands.
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August 31st, 2009 at 2:02 pm
so do you mean to say that diet has absolutely no relation to any type of cancer