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Posted on Oct 10, 2002, 4 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Women who eat a wide variety of healthy foods may significantly lower their risk of dying from such things as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute's nutritional epidemiology branch looked at overall eating patterns and found that a diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat meat and dairy products reduces a woman's chances of dying - up to 30 percent for women who ate the healthiest diets compared with those with the most unhealthy eating habits.
Women who eat a wide variety of healthy foods may significantly lower their risk of dying from such things as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute's nutritional epidemiology branch looked at overall eating patterns and found that a diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat meat and dairy products reduces a woman's chances of dying - up to 30 percent for women who ate the healthiest diets compared with those with the most unhealthy eating habits. The study was based on questionnaires completed between 1987 and 1989 by more than 42,000 women. Researchers then looked at 23 recommended foods and counted how many times the women reported eating those foods at least once a week, giving each woman a score based on the responses. The scores were compared with death rates among those women 5 to six years after the survey was completed. The study found women's risk of dying decreased as the scores went up. Those who ate the highest amount of recommended foods were 30 percent less likely to die than those who ate the lowest. While this study does not prove a healthy diet alone accounted for the results, the results suggest a simpler approach to achieving good health.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: April 26, 2000 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association
