In The News This Week … Nov. 7–13, 2004: More Food Fight Fodder?

You'll recall that last week, science showed us that fruits and vegetables aren't good for us (well, sort of).

This week in the news we find more information about bad foods! The November 8, 2004 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine published an article entitled Dietary Patterns, Meat Intake, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women that knocks a few more things off the menu. The study looked at two dietary styles: "Western" and "prudent" (you can see where they're going with this). The Western diet includes higher amounts of processed and red meats, refined grains (e.g. white bread), high-fat dairy products, and sweets and desserts, while the prudent diet includes higher amounts of fruits, veggies, whole grains, fish, poultry, legumes, and low-fat dairy products.

Based on a study of almost 70,000 women participants from the Nurses' Health Study, researchers found that those who followed the Western pattern of dining were almost 50% more likely to develop diabetes over a 14-year period than those who ate 'prudently.'

So if we don't want to eat prudently, what can we eat and still have health benefits? Pizza! The November 2004 European Journal of Clinical Nutrition published an article entitled Pizza and risk of acute myocardial infarction. The study not only reminds us that some ingredients of pizza have a favorable influence on the risk of cardiovascular disease and digestive tract cancer, but also that pizza has a favorable influence on the risk of acute MI. (Unfortunately, the study is referring to the more traditional Italian pizza, not the kind – or serving size – that we normally consume in North America …)

Ultimately, I think the answer is found in the words of Circero (106 BCE-43 BCE) – who probably stole the idea from someone before him: "Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide."

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