.....In my computer vault
of medical stories, one large and growing file that's
particularly fun to go into from time to time is called
the "Oops, we're so sorry" (or OWSS) file,
because it contains all those studies in which doctors
have had to sheepishly admit that something we've
told you for years is no longer operative.
.....Thus, several prominent
stories in the OWSS file deal with new findings about
hormone replacement therapy for menopause. You see,
there was a time not long ago when most doctors (but
not including yours truly, I'm happy to brag) were
wildly enthusiastic about the potential benefits of
HRT. It was going to cure heart disease, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's disease, osteoarthritis, even bad gums,
for crying out loud, and many doctors boldly reassured
all their peri- and post-menopausal patients about
how beneficial, necessary, and yes, completely safe
HRT is, especially, about how much of a |
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ailing
heart, there is no "compelling reason"
to put any such post-menopausal woman on HRT. As
for those women (with or without heart disease)
already taking HRT, well, "Oops, we're so sorry,"
but we really don't know what to tell you yet, except
that we can't assure you that HRT will help your
heart.
.....There are also
several studies in the OWSS file about how eating
lots of fiber may not really lower the risk of getting
colon cancer, although I must stress that eating
more fiber is still good for many other health reasons,
especially
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positive effect HRT would have on their hearts.
.....But as most of you
know by now, we now know that HRT actually kills many
women prematurely, especially - "Oops, we're
so sorry!" - women with pre-existing heart disease,
precisely, that is, those women for whom HRT had been
so strongly touted. In fact, according to a recent
advisory from The American Heart Association, when
it comes to trying to prevent further deterioration
of a woman's already |
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because fiber lowers the risks of diabetes and heart
disease, so even if it doesn't help your bowel,
it's still a good idea not to dump (if you pardon
the expression) your vast stores of bran and psyllium.
.....Anyway, the point
of this month's column is not to pick on backpedaling
medical people because after all, everyone makes
claims that don't pan out in time. I mean, take
the last provincial NDP
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government - please (actually, as the election proved, there
really were no takers). No, my point this month is rather
to highlight another couple of recent important entries
in the OWSS file, studies about breast cancer, the number
one health concern of many, perhaps most women, even though
heart disease, strokes, and diabetes kill far more women
than breast cancer does.
.....The first finding I want
to flag is from the Journal of the American Medical Association
that concluded that eating lots of fruits and veggies does
not significantly lower the risk of developing breast cancer.
In this excellent review, researchers looked at over 350,000
women and concluded that women who ate the most fruits and
veggies have only a very small decreased risk of breast
cancer, numbers that are not "statistically significant",
meaning that the lower numbers of breast cancer cases among
high fruit and veggie eaters may have been due to chance
alone. So until further notice, or until another "Oops,
we're so sorry" backtrack, you need not continue consuming
cargo loads of cabbage, kale, and cauliflower to lower your
risks of developing breast cancer. I must caution, however,
that this report is unlikely to be the last word on this
subject because I think there is still a good likelihood
diet will be found to play a key role in the development
of breast cancer. Most likely, I think, is that we'll eventually
discover that a |
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