Is a Low-Fat Diet beneficial After 50 in women?
A study of 48,000 women ages 50 to 79 on a low fat diet and who were followed for eight years showed little statistical benefit in reducing their risks of heart disease and cancer. The study was published in the Journal of the American Association (JAMA) in early February.
The conclusion, women who limited fat intake had basically the same rates of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart attacks and strokes as those who ate any foods they liked. However, a statistically insignificant decline in breast cancer was seen in women with lower fat intake.
Some, such as Dr. Dean Ornish — founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA — disputed the study results. Dr. Ornish expressed the idea that the women failed to reduce their fat intake to low enough levels or eat enough fruits and vegetables. Eight years was insufficient time to be a true test, he said.
Other prominent physicians reacted by saying that controlling the diet a woman eats is not enough. We must examine how much they eat, whether they smoke, and if they are too inactive. Genetics or family history also plays a big role in a woman’s risks for heart disease or cancer.
Although all study participants were women, the results should also apply to men’s risk of heart disease (www.Americanheart.org), according to Dr. Jacques Rossouw, project officer for the Women’s Health Initiative.
The highly reputable study was carried out under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. (The NIH’s Women’s Health Initiative study on hormone replacement therapy) also found that HRT after menopause might have more risks than benefits.
Cardiologist Nanette Wenger, on staff at Emory University, concluded that a modest reduction of fat and a substitution with fruits and vegetables did little for prevention of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer or colorectal cancer. She added, “It doesn’t say that this diet is not beneficial.”
Most medical researchers agree that it makes good sense to eat well, control weight and exercise regularly. The lesson is that simply reducing your total dietary fat is not enough.
Dr. Dean Edell’s take on the subject was that women’s health habits before the age of 50 may have more significance for developing or preventing disease than what they do later in life. He also pointed out that the types of fat that women consumed were not clearly delineated in this study. Apparently, the study was conceived before evidence pinpointed the chief dietary hazards leading to heart disease – transfats and saturated fats.
Saturated fats found in dairy products and meat and the transfats in processed foods — such as doughnuts, pastries, cookies, and fries — are thought to be problematic. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oil and fish oil may be beneficial or less harmful. Another long-term study is needed to separate out the types of fats consumed, according to Margaret Warner’s guests appearing on PBS’ The News Hour.
The conclusion, women who limited fat intake had basically the same rates of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart attacks and strokes as those who ate any foods they liked. However, a statistically insignificant decline in breast cancer was seen in women with lower fat intake.
Some, such as Dr. Dean Ornish — founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA — disputed the study results. Dr. Ornish expressed the idea that the women failed to reduce their fat intake to low enough levels or eat enough fruits and vegetables. Eight years was insufficient time to be a true test, he said.
Other prominent physicians reacted by saying that controlling the diet a woman eats is not enough. We must examine how much they eat, whether they smoke, and if they are too inactive. Genetics or family history also plays a big role in a woman’s risks for heart disease or cancer.
Although all study participants were women, the results should also apply to men’s risk of heart disease (www.Americanheart.org), according to Dr. Jacques Rossouw, project officer for the Women’s Health Initiative.
The highly reputable study was carried out under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. (The NIH’s Women’s Health Initiative study on hormone replacement therapy) also found that HRT after menopause might have more risks than benefits.
Cardiologist Nanette Wenger, on staff at Emory University, concluded that a modest reduction of fat and a substitution with fruits and vegetables did little for prevention of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer or colorectal cancer. She added, “It doesn’t say that this diet is not beneficial.”
Most medical researchers agree that it makes good sense to eat well, control weight and exercise regularly. The lesson is that simply reducing your total dietary fat is not enough.
Dr. Dean Edell’s take on the subject was that women’s health habits before the age of 50 may have more significance for developing or preventing disease than what they do later in life. He also pointed out that the types of fat that women consumed were not clearly delineated in this study. Apparently, the study was conceived before evidence pinpointed the chief dietary hazards leading to heart disease – transfats and saturated fats.
Saturated fats found in dairy products and meat and the transfats in processed foods — such as doughnuts, pastries, cookies, and fries — are thought to be problematic. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oil and fish oil may be beneficial or less harmful. Another long-term study is needed to separate out the types of fats consumed, according to Margaret Warner’s guests appearing on PBS’ The News Hour.
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