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Diet and Cancer Prevention
Low-Fat Diet Boosts Immunity
Tufts University scientists have found that, when volunteers with
high cholesterol levels switched to a low-fat diet, they not only
lost weight, but significantly enhanced their immunity, an important
factor in cancer prevention. Ten participants were initially instructed
to follow a standard American-style diet deriving 35 percent of
calories from fat. Then they followed three subsequent diets: one
made up of 26 percent fat, one made up of 15 percent fat, and, lastly,
a 15 percent fat diet with a further reduction in calories. Each
diet drove cholesterol levels down, but only the last phase was
associated with marked improvement in cellular immune response.
Santos MS, Lichtenstein AH, Leka LS, Goldin B, Schaefer EJ, Meydani
SN. Immunological effects of low-fat diets with and without weight
loss. J Am Coll Nutr. 2003;22:174-82.
Bingham SA, Day NE, Luben R, et al. Dietary fibre in food and protection
against colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation
into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): an observational study. Lancet. 2003;361:1496-501.
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