Pistachios May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

A good example of really crappy research.

"A diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung and other cancers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9...

'It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer,' said Ladia M. Hernandez, M.S., R.D., L.D., senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University -- Houston Center.

The study, conducted at Texas Woman's University -- Houston Center, included 36 healthy participants who were randomized into either a control group or the intervention group consisting of a pistachio diet. There were 18 participants in the control group and 18 in the intervention group. There was a two-week baseline period, followed by a four-week intervention period in which the intervention group was provided with 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios per day; the control group continued with their normal diet.
The effect on the intake and serum cholesterol-adjusted gamma-tocopherol was investigated. Intake was calculated using the Nutrition Data System for Research Version 2007, and consumption was monitored using diet diaries and by measuring the weights of the returned pistachios.

Hernandez and colleagues found a significant increase in energy-adjusted dietary intake of gamma-tocopherol at weeks three and four in those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. The similar effect was seen at weeks five and six among those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. For those on the pistachio diet, cholesterol-adjusted serum gamma-tocopherol was significantly higher at the end of the intervention period compared to baseline."

So what they are saying is that if you eat foods with more Vitamin E in them, your Vitamin E levels will go up.

Then they say that "vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer."

The next leap is "Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer..."

They never connect the two.

Nor do they ever connect the increased levels of Vitamin E from eating the nuts with an actual reduction in any cancer, let alone lung cancer.

The only real nuts here are the researchers.

And they are not good for you.

You ought to wonder who paid for this trash.

Any guesses?