What's Food Got To Do With It?

    Is it true?  Can what we put into our mouths actually prevent or reduce our risk of breast cancer?

    Well, if the results of some new medical studies are right, then doctors and chefs are finding they have more than a white coat in common!

    I recently spoke with Heidi Scarsella.  She is the dietitian in the new breast cancer survivorship clinic at Duke Hospital in Durham.   The focus of the center is on long-term survivorship (making healthy lifestyle choices, prevention of secondary cancers, and other illnesses).

    Here's what I got out of my conversation with Heidi:  taken all together, the accumulated evidence of hundreds of research studies all point in the same direction.  We can lower our risk of developing breast cancer by eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans.

    More to the point, Heidi has a lot of praise for the Mediterranean diet.  It is particularly rich in veggies, features fish at least two or three times  a week (if not daily), olive oil, and limits portions of meat, fish, and poultry.

    She also let me in on an interesting study that will be published in June by researchers at UNC.  It indicates that Choline, a nutrient found in foods such as eggs is associated with a 24 percent reduced risk of breast cancer.

    Listen, scientists still have lots of questions about the best anti-cancer diet.  One thing we do know is that there are foods that sure offer hope... tantalizing hope.

    Anybody out there following the basic Mediterranean diet?   How's it working for you?