I have been known to grumble about various practices that are commonly believed to improve one’s heath on the grounds that, even within the relatively brief span of my lifetime, many of these practices have been demonstrated to be either of negligible effect or actually harmful. (Taking Vitamin C in large doses for colds, taking zinc gluconate for colds, taking A, C, and E as antioxidants, and getting more sun as an aid to the complexion are conspicuous examples.) Hence it comes as only a slight surprise to me that today’s New York Times has a headline article with this title: Study Finds Low-Fat Diet Won’t Stop Cancer or Heart Disease This isn’t some little half-assed study funded by a snack food company, either; it’s a big deal. Here’s a juicy quotation:
For decades, many scientists have been saying, and many members of the public have been believing, that what you eat — the composition of the diet — determines how likely you are to get a chronic disease. But it has been hard to prove. Studies of dietary fiber and colon cancer failed to find that fiber was protective. Studies of vitamins thought to protect against cancer failed to show an effect. … And, confounding many popular notions about fat in the diet, the different diets did not make much difference in anyone’s weight.
Now, I’m not going to suddenly cease my efforts to eat in a low-fat manner, but once again it seems that the only bits of dietary advice worth following are two of the oldest: eat a balanced diet, and everything in moderation. Getting some exercise is good, too.
Here’s the link to the article. Read it while eating a bag of potato chips.
