Low-Fat Diet Falls Short: It’s not enough to stop cancers, heart disease

Reducing fat consumption after menopause offers most women little if any protection against breast cancer or several other diseases, according to three reports from a massive prevention trial. No significant differences in rates of colorectal cancer, heart disease, or stroke emerged during the trial.

But “little snippets of information” from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trial suggest that cutting back on fats may protect some women from breast cancer, says epidemiologist and study investigator Shirley Beresford of the University of Washington in Seattle.