Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 36
1 In the left-hand column under Application and Public
2 Health Impact, Impact on Cancer Research, I would like to
3 quote about two paragraphs: "Increased research during
4 the 1980s", which perhaps the dates are relevant, "refined
5 and strengthened evidence of the connection between diet,
6 nutrition and cancer. In particular, researchers were
7 able to (1) identify stronger links between dietary fat
8 and colon cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer.
9 (2) Refine the connection between dietary fat and increase
10 cancer risk to focus on types of fat. (3) Develop a
11 scientific basis for the hypothesis that increased intake
12 of insoluble fibre reduces colon cancer.
13
14 As knowledge of dietary impacts on cancer risk and
15 prevention become known, the public demanded more
16 information spawning further research studies and an
17 influx of new researchers into what was once thought of as
18 a 'soft science' field" -- soft science simply meaning
19 that hard data were not clearly available. "After
20 epidemiological, animal and laboratory studies were able
21 to confirm a connection between cancer, diet and
22 nutrition, human primary cancer prevention intervention
23 trials were initiated to examine specific effects of
24 changes in diet and nutrition on cancer risk."
25
26 Then some more details of these studies are given. The
27 only things that I wanted to highlight there was that,
28 according to this document, these changes occurred
29 somewhere during the 1980s. By "changes" I mean,
30 according to this report, links were already established
31 between fat and colon and breast cancer, but that these,
32 in their words, links were made stronger during the
33 1980s.
34
35 Secondly, near the end of my reading, they use the words
36 "confirm a connection between cancer, diet and
37 nutrition". So, they are speaking about this not in very
38 tentative or hypothetical terms, but to talk about this as
39 something that is confirmed.
40
41 On page 19, I would simply like to call the court's
42 attention to the very last sentence on page 19, which
43 refers again to the effects of diet on hormone levels,
44 which again has already been accepted as a very important
45 factor in the cause of breast cancer.
46
47 The last sentence of this document on page 19 says:
48 "Changes in dietary fat from an average of 40 to an
49 average of 20 per cent calories from fat reduces both
50 tissue and circulating oestrogen levels by about 17 per
51 cent" -- "tissue" meaning the oestrogen that is in organs,
52 "circulating" meaning the oestrogen that is in blood,
53 both of which are affected by a reduction in fat intake.
54
55 I draw attention to this because it suggests that, indeed,
56 avoiding high fat foods of the type that is sold at
57 McDonald's does, in fact, reduce oestrogen levels, does so
58 significantly and in a way that is not simply hypothesis
59 but is clearly established fact.
60
