A LOW-FAT diet can curb the spread of skin cancer, according to a study of 115 patients with sun-damaged skin.
The work was presented last week to the solar radiation conference by Homer Black, a biochemist at Baylor College of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
Black's patients were randomly divided into two groupsthose who carried on eating their usual diet and those who altered their diet so that only 20 per cent of their total caloric input was fat. Before the study began, the patients were taking an average of 40 per cent of their calories in the form of fats. The low-fat volunteers substituted lean meat, skinless poultry, fish and low-fat or fat-free dairy products in place of their higher fat counterparts. Food was roasted or grilled rather than fried.
Initially, there was little difference in the number of tumours suffered by patients in ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.