08/16/07

I posted a response to an article last month that discusses fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer. Please see my posting of the previous article dated 7/18/07. As it turns out, my colleagues have come to my side and substantiate my original thoughts and conclusions. The flawed study determined that a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and fiber, and low in fat did not reduce breast cancer recurrence. Well, in response, below are some other reactions from some other esteemed experts in the field of nutrition:

Keith Ayoob, Albert Einstein College of Medicine: "[The participants] ate less toward the end of the study but they either didn't lose weight or actually gained weight. This puts a bit of strain on the credibility of the self-reporting."

Dean Ornish, Preventive Medicine Research Institute: "These women did not reduce their dietary fat very much by their self report."

Elizabeth Jeffery, University of Illinois at Urbana: "The study utilized women who were already using far greater amounts of fruits and vegetables than most individuals."

Dr. Weil: "Both groups reported consuming more fat at the end of the study than at the beginning, so the hypothesis could not be tested." Also, "Most of the [women] did not reach the target fat reduction in their diets—even after receiving counseling and other interventions."