No Single Food Cures or Prevents Disease

Dietary myths, hype and fads are nothing new. Although they are often useless, misleading and sometimes dangerous, the most difficult to deal with are the ones that offer false hope to people suffering with very real medical problems. Two dietary prescriptions that have been in the news involve arthritis and breast cancer.

It is tempting to look to the food we eat--something over which we have almost total control--for answers to the hard questions about chronic and life-threatening diseases. However, although there are certainly some clear links between diet and heart disease, cancer and diabetes, they involve large nutritional decisions--eat more fruits and vegetables and less fat, increase fiber intake. In other words, having a healthy diet may help reduce your risk for certain diseases, but so far nobody has found any single foods or supplements that will cure or prevent anything.

Arthritis

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of the disease, is a chronic, degenerative joint disease that affects primarily older people. It results from both a wearing down of the cartilage that covers the bones at the joints and a failure of the cartilage to repair itself. The end result is that the bones rub together, causing pain and, frequently, stiffness and an actual deformation of the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis, which is far less common and far more serious, is an autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammation around, and deformity of, the joints.

The dietary advice related to arthritis is bountiful but by and large useless. It isn’t that there hasn’t been a lot of research, because there has. Hundreds of studies have been carried out searching for a link between diet and arthritis, but so far none has succeeded in finding any food, diet or supplement that will prevent arthritis, cure it, or alleviate joint pain. Although there is some very preliminary evidence that certain forms of fatty acids may be helpful in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the overall dietary link to any kind of arthritis is not very promising.

For those who insist there is a connection, the most frequent “villainous” foods are thought to be so-called nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes. In fact, these vegetables (especially peppers and tomatoes) are very nutritious and should be part of any healthy diet. Tomatoes, for example, are one of the leading sources of an important antioxidant called lycopene, and peppers are high in various carotenoids.

But nightshade vegetables aren’t the only foods to be damned. People with arthritis have been advised to avoid meat, dairy products, cooked or processed foods and grain.

On the flip side, there are those who advise people suffering from arthritis to take huge amounts of garlic, alfalfa, wheat germ oil, molasses, vinegar and untold other home remedies. Since arthritis is a chronic, incurable disease that seems to get better and worse and better all on its own, it’s no surprise that it attracts all kinds of promises for miracle cures.

Breast Cancer

About a year ago, the media started hyping a Swedish experiment that claimed to have found a reduced risk of breast cancer (55% less) in women who consumed a tablespoon of monounsaturated fats (olive oil) every day. While this is seductive information, the conclusions of the study were seriously flawed.

If, in fact, these findings were accurate, one might reasonably ask whether taking three tablespoons of olive oil a day would reduce a woman’s risk by 165%, clearly an impossible outcome. Even the authors of the study cautioned that their work was not definitive and needed to be confirmed by additional research.

There is absolutely no evidence that adding olive oil (or any other fat) to an already high-fat diet will reduce the risk of anything, let alone breast cancer. However, there is certainly good reason to substitute olive or canola oil for other dietary fats that are more saturated, while keeping the daily intake of fat at 30% or less of total calories consumed.

A diet high in saturated fat has been linked to the risk for prostate and colon cancer and although it is suspected of being a factor in breast cancer, recent research suggests there is no link.

As of the moment, a diet that consists primarily of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is the best way to prevent cancer and heart disease. Eating this kind of a diet and getting proper exercise will also lower your risk for obesity, which itself is a major risk factor for heart disease, osteoarthritis and diabetes.

We fully understand that, unlike the latest headlines, this advice is absolutely boring, unglamorous and nobody wants to hear it, but unfortunately the magic bullet hasn’t been discovered yet. We’re pretty sure if, and when, that day comes, the news will be announced by reputable scientists and not by folks who are just trying to sell books or supplements or various miracles. So stay informed, but be skeptical of those who promise too much.