Stupid study of the month: Eating fresh fruits and vegetables can lead to cancer

… With the rise of anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, federal food guidelines have centered on slabs of meat, excessive amounts of protein, and sticks of butter. …

It is in this bananas context that headlines arrived … suggesting that eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains [can] increase the risk of lung cancer ….

…

According to the abstract, researchers … analyzed dietary survey data from 166 non-smokers who developed lung cancer under age 50. [R]esearchers found that the participants had higher scores for consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. … Without any more data, the researchers speculate that the produce and grains may contain high levels of pesticides, and those pesticides may increase the risk of lung cancer.

Multiple studies over the years, including meta-analyses and pooled studies, have found that eating fruits and vegetables either lowers the risk of lung cancer or has no effect.

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Moreover, leanness—which a person on a diet heavy in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may be—is known to correlate with lung cancer, Peter Shields, emeritus professor of Medical Oncology at Ohio State University, added. “The authors may not be seeing anything more than this.” …

“And, even more important,” he continued, “a role for pesticides is entirely speculative.”

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