Did you hear about the huge study spanning 8 years and involving 48, 000 women? The question was if a low fat diet would reduce the incidence of breast cancer. The results? No statistical correlation between the AMA/ADA recommended low fat diet and reduced risk of breast cancer. This data will likely be re-cooked to look for other disease correlations but the bottom line is the low fat diet did not work. Here is a link to the JAMA abstract:
Over at the ADA website we have this position statement:
The title of that piece:
Don't Give Up on Low-Fat Food Choices for Overall Health and Protection from Disease
Check this out:
“Results from the studies, the largest-ever controlled clinical trial of whether a low-fat dietary plan would reduce middle-aged to older women's risk of breast cancer, heart disease or stroke, are scheduled to be published in the February 9 Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers found no significant reductions in risk among more than 48,000 women over an eight-year period.” Emphasis mine.
Hmmm…and:
"It is also important to remember that research over many years indicates an overall plan of healthful eating - including plenty of fruits, fiber and vegetables - may help protect against a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including some forms of cancer."
That is about all they have. The literature does not damn fat consumption; if it did they would say so. The literature does not support this position so they cannot make that claim. Interestingly they do not however change their basic message:
"As a registered dietitian, I encourage everyone to follow the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend keeping total fat intake between 20 percent to 35 percent of daily calories."
They provide the same recommendations yet have no data to support their position. The best they have is “eat more fruit, veggies and fiber…"
