Day 266 - 20 Jun 96 - Page 11


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is this?
     3        A.   Yes, around 35 per cent of cancers are related to
     4        diet.  I am aware there is currently a big European study
     5        on diet and cancer which would firm up, but all the current
     6        evidence is that it is around 35 per cent.
     7
     8   Q.   What was the word you used -- 35 per cent of cancers, what,
     9        to diet?
    10        A.   35 per cent of cancers are diet related.  In other
    11        word, as change of diet would reduce the incidence of
    12        cancer by that amount.  I did bring a new pamphlet from my
    13        department, which is a health promotion department, which
    14        distributes leaflets to health professionals within the
    15        NHS, and that is the figure they are working at there, the
    16        change of diet, and it the same type of dietary change
    17        recommended for cancer reduction as it is for heart disease
    18        reduction.
    19
    20   Q.   Yes.  All I am saying is, I do not think you need refer to
    21        Professor Doll because the figure is familiar and whether
    22        or not the article published by the Nutrition Society was
    23        in exactly the same form as another article written by him
    24        to the same effect probably does not matter?
    25        A.   I can give you the reason why I picked on that
    26        particular paper at the time.  It was because it was a
    27        review of other papers.  So, it was reviewing all papers
    28        that had been, it seemed as though it sort of crystallises
    29        the state of research on cancer and diet at the time.
    30
    31   MS. STEEL:  Reading on:
    32
    33        "The World Cancer Research Fund dietary advice to minimise
    34        cancer risk is reduce intake of dietary fat and increase
    35        consumption of fruits, vegetables and wholegrains.  The
    36        incidence of bowel cancer has been strongly linked to meat
    37        consumption (Willett published in the New England Journal
    38        of Medicine Volume 323 page 937-41) carried out a study of
    39        over 88,000 women aged 34-59 years.  Women eating red meat
    40        daily ran over twice the risk of developing bowel cancer
    41        than women eating red meat less than once a month.  As a
    42        result of the numerous studies published demonstrating the
    43        links between diet and health many bodies promoting
    44        healthier eating have published guidelines aimed at the
    45        public giving guidelines on what to eat.  The consensus of
    46        opinion for a healthier diet is to reduce total fat
    47        consumption, particularly saturated fat, reduced sugar and
    48        salt, and increase consumption of dietary fibre and fresh
    49        fruit and vegetables."
    50        A.  Can I add to that paragraph that would explain it a bit
    51        further, that in terms of the calories that people
    52        consumed, if you reduce the fat consumption then the 
    53        advice, going back to the NACNE Report and current reports,
    54        is to increase the carbohydrate content.  In other words,
    55        to increase the starches, the grains, the pulses, the
    56        bread, the cereals, the potatoes to compensate for that
    57        decrease in fat.  The Government has recently produced
    58        something called the 'wheel of good health' and that
    59        demonstrates how people need to increase their consumption
    60        of starchy foods, particularity the high carbohydrate foods

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