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PEOPLE on low-fat diets already miss out on some of the culinary pleasures of life. Is it possible they may get no health benefits in return, as controversial research on postmenopausal women suggests?

Three studies found that eating a low-fat diet with plenty of fruit and fibre did not reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease in postmenopausal women. The studies followed 50,000 women from the Women’s Health Initiative trial over eight years (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 295, p 629 and p 643, p 655).

However, many experts are unconvinced by the study,…

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