Die toxische Gesamtsituation heute. Gedanken zum WHO-Bericht “Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases”

Abstract

In the 1950s to '70s, food additives and contaminants were considered important risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases. Opinion leaders like F. Eichholtz and W. Kollath in Germany and R. Carson and J.J. Delaney in the United States maintained that the exclusion of man-made chemicals from the food supply would decisively contribute to better health. In contrast to these views, world-wide scientific opinion now emphasizes the role of personal lifestyle, e.g., over-nutrition, unbalanced diets, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption in the causation of chronic diseases. Dietary guidelines now recommended for the prevention of cancer are largely identical with those recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Indications are that oxidative damage to DNA contributes importantly to both these diseases. In research the role of antioxidants and other protective substances in foods receives as much attention today as man-made carcinogens received in the past. Media reporting and nutrition counseling have taken very little notice of these fundamental changes in scientific opinion.

Bulletin: From Washington 1970 to Budapest 1995: Twenty-five years of IUFoST. A Personal Reminiscence. Book Reviews

“…The seminal publication of the British epidemiologists Doll and Peto in 1981 (16) was a turning point in the fight against cancer. Until then the belief was widely held that a search for cancer-causing chemicals in the environment and the elimination of these chemicals would either (19,20). The conclusion of Doll and Peto that exposure to low doses of environmental substances in the diet was not among the important carcinogenic factors was supported by the work of American biochemist Bruce Ames and his collaborators.…”