Michelle Holmes, a physician at Harvard Medical School, missed the most important clue in her highly praised study ("JAMA", March 10, 1999-Vol 281, No. 10, 914-920). The foremost piece of evidence now remains hidden within a mountain of research consisting of millions of pages of confusing and contradictory elements denoting the breast cancer equation. Her recent publication ends with a quotation from Blaise Pascal, which in part reads:

      Dr. Holmes and her seven co-authors meticulously analyzed data from nearly 89,000 nurses over a 14- year period and arrived at TWO major conclusions:

THE CONCLUSIONS

      Conclusion number one became headline news on March 10, 1999. "Dietary fat plays no role in contributing to breast cancer." Conclusion number two was virtually ignored: "The risk of breast cancer tends to be highest among those with the lowest fat intake."

HERE IS WHAT THE DOCTORS MISSED

      In becoming health conscious, Americans endeavored to lower their intake of "dangerous" animal fats. In 1979 the average American drank 149 pounds of whole milk and 79 pounds of low-fat milk. Fifteen years later, the consumption numbers were virtually reversed. In 1994, the average American drank 76 pounds of whole milk and 124 pounds of low-fat milk. America's dietary habits were influenced by over one-billion dollars of dairy industry ads and marketing. The message? Low-fat milk is healthier! Unfortunately, just the opposite was true. The rate of increase of breast cancers was directly proportional to the increase in dietary intake of low-fat milk and dairy products.

UNACCEPTABLE DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA

      By drinking more milk in which the fat was removed, America's men and women now consume a protein-rich formula. More protein means increased levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in milk. IGF-I is the key factor in the growth and proliferation of every cancer, particularly breast cancers and male prostate cancers.

NURSES: TOO EDUCATED FOR THEIR OWN GOOD

      Female nurses, by the very nature of their jobs and education, are an extremely well informed group of women. They became the subjects of this experiment, and those who reported low-fat diets were well aware of their low-fat dietary options. Since American women have been targeted to believe that milk consumption was essential for preventing osteoporosis (a myth shattered in last week's column), these "educated" nurses changed from whole milk to low-fat milk. They consumed low-fat cheeses, low-fat yogurts and low-fat ice creams.

IGNORANCE WAS BLISS

      The low-fat consumers are the same women having the highest rate of breast cancer, the group consuming the product with the highest concentrations of IGF-I. Breast cancer was never about fat, despite environmental or animal studies. This Harvard University Nurse's Study has dispelled the "fat-myth." However, the clue was there and it was missed. Perhaps these physicians should re-examine their own data.

      Visit the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) WEB site for their article: "Association of Dietary Intake of Fat and Fatty Acids With Risk of Breast Cancer" at: http://www.ama-assn.org/special/womh/library/readroom/vol_281b/joc81342.htm

      The most well publicized and marketed dietary fad in America today might very well be the most dangerous. Bovine colostrum is the first "milk" produced by a dairy cow. It is against the law for farmers to include this hormone-rich milk for consumer sale, yet, the hormones in colostrum are now finding their way to consumers under the guise of a health product.

CREDIBILITY?

      The April 1999 issue of the "Townsend Medical Letter" will contain a stunning endorsement for bovine colostrum. The article credits bovine colostrum for providing:

SNAKE-OIL CLAIMS

      Mood elevation, improved sleep, memory retention, vision, kidney function, sexual performance, energy levels and muscle mass. In addition, users will experience an elimination of wrinkles and cellulite, faster wound healing, and stronger bone growth.

HERE'S WHAT BOVINE COLOSTRUM WILL DO

      Bovine colostrum will safeguard America's nearly bankrupt Social Security system. It will also insure that pension accounts remain strong. After all, as Americans live into their eighties, nineties and beyond, they threaten the survival of these retirement funds, placing unfair burdens on younger generations who produce to support the elderly. If people get cancer at an earlier age and not live into old age, society will reap a financial benefit.

THE PROBLEM WITH COLOSTRUM

      It's IGF-I, stupid! IGF-I in bovine colostrum is identical to human IGF-I, the hormone identified as the key factor in the growth and proliferation of breast cancer and male prostate cancer. Speaking of prostate cancer...

      New York Yankee manager Joe Torre has joined nearly 180,000 other American males who will be found to have prostate cancer in 1999. Nearly 40,000 American males will die from prostate cancer this year. This is the second cancer to strike the Yankees in a five-month period. Slugger Darryl Strawberry was diagnosed with colon cancer right before last year's playoffs.

THE KEY FACTOR IN PROSTATE CANCER

      Again we find insulin-like growth factor as the key hormone in the growth of prostate cancer. Tens of millions of different proteins in nature... four thousand different mammals... only one hormone is identical between two species, IGF-I in humans and cows.

GOT MILK? GOT CANCER!

      Uruguay and Paraguay have essentially the same diets. There is one difference. Uruguay has a dairy industry Paraguay, none. Uruguay has the third highest rate of dairy consumption in the world and the third highest rate of breast cancer. Nations with high rates of milk consumption are nations with equally high rates of breast and prostate cancer. It is a lot more than just a statistical confirmation of this truth. There is a mechanism, IGF-I, the powerful growth hormone that signals every cell to grow. When it finds an existing cancer, usually controlled, IGF-I becomes the turn-on mechanism. For more information on IGF-I:

      The federal government allows 750 million pus cells (somatic cell count or SCC) in every liter of milk sold in America. In Europe, the milk has only 450 million cells per liter. American dairymen are now participating in a survey. Most of them (45%) want the unhealthier milk. Would you like to take the survey? Here are the results, as of NOON on Saturday, 3/13/99:

QUESTION: