Day 033 - 10 Oct 94 - Page 32


     
     1        I regard that limit as being quite generous in fat, and
     2        that a protective diet might be configured with
     3        considerably less fat than that to be safe.
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:  So the government recommended a figure of 30 per
     6        cent; you would say that is a cautious one or not?
     7        A.  I would say it was set to be higher than I would say
     8        is optimal.  I might call it a conservative one rather
     9        than cautious.  To be cautious one would suggest a much
    10        lower fat intake perhaps.
    11
    12   Q.   If we move on, you said something on obesity and about
    13        other mechanisms.  I cannot remember what mechanisms you
    14        did describe.  Do you remember?
    15        A.  The mechanisms linking -----
    16
    17   Q.   You said something ----
    18        A. - linking fat and breast cancer?
    19
    20   Q.   You said there other mechanisms -- I cannot remember the
    21        mechanism you did mention?
    22        A.  Yes, I did cite a number of mechanisms.  With regard
    23        to breast cancer, one is that a high fat diet can elevate
    24        oestrogen levels, fibre can reduce oestrogen levels, and
    25        we talked about fat impairing immune defences against
    26        cancer.  In addition, obesity is widely agreed, widely
    27        accepted, as something that increases the risk of breast
    28        cancer.
    29
    30        That may be mediated by the fact that adipose tissue, fat
    31        tissue, increases oestrogen levels in the body because the
    32        fat allows the production of oestrogens.  So, again that
    33        is another mechanism.  So, again, when we have talked
    34        about all these various links there are many, and it is
    35        really quite widely accepted and widely known that a high
    36        fat diet encourages obesity, that obesity encourages
    37        breast cancer, and therefore a high fat diet without any
    38        question is going to encourage the risk of breast cancer;
    39        it is going to increase the risk of breast cancer.  We
    40        presume that at least one mechanism is through its effect
    41        on sex hormones.  When women lose weight and when they
    42        reduce the fat in their diet, you can very quickly change
    43        their hormone levels to a smaller amount, a smaller amount
    44        in the blood.
    45
    46   Q.   Over the page, on page 10, you very briefly touch on lung
    47        cancer rates.  Any particular point you want to make on
    48        that?
    49        A.  One has to presume that lung cancer is linked most
    50        tightly to cigarette smoking.  After all, one is inhaling 
    51        carcinogens and they hit the lung tissue directly. 
    52        However, researchers have noted that even when smoking is 
    53        controlled for vegetarians have less lung cancer.  That is
    54        simply an association.  One presumes that the reason is
    55        that whatever exposure one may have to carcinogens,
    56        vegetarians have a stronger immunity along some of the
    57        lines that we spoke of earlier, and perhaps less of a
    58        tendency to actually absorb mutagens into their bodies,
    59        which is another presumed mechanism; because mutagens that
    60        are inhaled through the lungs travel into the blood stream

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