May 1, 2000
DOWN HOME:
Eventually, you might actually like cardboard
___Just when you thought it was safe to get up from the breakfast table, along come the scientists.
___"A major colon cancer prevention study has failed to find evidence that a high-fiber,low-fat diet can protect a person from the deadly disease," the Dallas Morning News reported.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___"We're very disappointed," said Arthur Schatzkin of the National Cancer Institute.
___The good doctor ain't the only one. Everybody who's been eating cereal roughly the taste and consistency of corrugated cardboard for the past umpteen years is disappointed too. And all this time, we've been coaxing down our morning regimen of bran squares topped with bran flakes with the helpful thought, "This stuff tastes like barn siding, but it's good for you."
___Ha.
___One of the earliest magazine covers I remember came out while I was in high school. It featured a face on a plate--two fried eggs for the eyes, a sausage patty for the nose and a curved strip of bacon, turned upside down, for a frowning mouth. An article inside explained how everything a person might possibly enjoy in breakfast is bad for you.
___Reminds me of my mother-in-law's doctor's dietary advice: "If it tastes good, spit it out."
___When it comes to food, ignorance is bliss, at least for the moment. I grew up eating two eggs, two strips of bacon, two slices of toast and two glasses of milk every morning. And I loved breakfast. Now, I only eat breakfast because a stomach full of high-fiber cereal keeps me from eating the morning mail. And I hate breakfast.
___Seems like almost everybody knows somebody's great-great uncle who ate a dozen eggs and a pound of sausage every morning for 103 years, until he got run over by a tractor.
___Still, doctors say a high-fiber, low-fat breakfast is good for you. Even after the new cancer study. That's their story, and they're sticking to it.
___The latest study only examined the occurrence of colon polyps in people who already had polyps. Scientists say future studies might show a high-fiber, low-fat diet could keep polyps from appearing in the first place, especially in people who start eating right early in life. And they agree people age 50 and older should be screened for polyps regularly.
___"If everybody would get screened, we wouldn't have to worry about colon cancer," said Elena Martinez, a doctor who conducted the cereal study.
___This ought to matter to Christians, since we believe our bodies are the temples of the Lord. If we love the Lord, we will keep our temples in tip-top shape. So, we express our gratitude by getting plenty of exercise, drinking lots of water and (ugh) eating that cereal.
___
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