Latest Scientific Findings on Diet and Cancer

From Jodi Lipson
AARP members planning to celebrate their last night in Las Vegas at one of the city's 5-star steakhouses were urged to reconsider in a session entitled "Forget What You Hear in the News: Learn the Latest Scientific Findings on Diet and Cancer."
Dr. Arthur Schatzkin of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institute for Health presneted results from a study co-sponsored by AARP and the NIH -- the largest study ever of the impact of diet on the health of people 50 and older.
The size of the research--AARP had to rent a warehouse to store the half a million questionnaires--is allowing the researchers tease out, say, whether obesity might impact esophageal cancer (yes) and brain cancer (more so if you're obese when you were 18 and under). And the results leave no doubt: consumption of red meat increases all sorts of cancer.
On the good news side: the study confirms that 5 hours of vigorous exercise a week will extend your life-- with whole grain foods, fruits, vegetables, and the Mediterranean diet reducing the risk of cancer.