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Dr. Kim Mulvihill Reporting Researchers just released the results of a landmark study on the link between diet and cancer and heart disease.
Researchers looked at whether a low fat diet helped older women reduce their risk of certain cancers and the number one cause of death-- heart disease. The results were a bit hard to swallow.
Low fat diets are supposed to be good for your health.
"I've heard that they're good for all health-related reasons."
"Of course it reduces high blood pressure."
"I'm 52 and I may not look it, but my low fat diet is doing me good."
Unfortunately, a huge government study involving postmenopausal women says that may not be the case.
Ross Prentice, M.D./ Researcher: "We don't regard our data as strong enough at this time to recommend that all postmenopausal women start a low fat diet for the purpose of reducing breast cancer risk."
In fact, researchers found the same goes for colorectal cancer and heart disease.
Bette Caan/ Kaiser Permanente Oakland: "At first glance, it looks like diet did not significantly reduce the incidence of any of these."
Researchers tracked nearly 50,000 older women for about eight years. Almost half the women ate low-fat. The rest ate their usual diets.
Bette Caan: "The message is that low fat alone may not be enough."
Dr. Bette Caan of Kaiser Permanente Oakland is one of the lead researchers. She says this study is not a reason to throw up your hands and eat ice cream.
Bette Caan: "We shouldn't abandon low fat. And that we need to pay attention to the types of fat we eat and the other things. That when we take fat out of our diet, that we substitute whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Fiber."
Dr. Mulvihill says the emphasis needs to be on replacing bad fats with healthier choices. There are a lot of ways to achieve a low fat diet. Keep in mind, in this study the women who had the highest fats in their diets did see some benefits from just cutting out some of the fat.
