A trip to almost any bookstore or a cruise around the Internet might leave the impression that avoiding cancer is mostly a matter of watching what you eat. One source after another promotes the protective powers of “superfoods,” rich in antioxidants and other phytochemicals, or advises readers to emulate the diets of Chinese peasants or Paleolithic cave dwellers. Research by Walter C. Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health and professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is cited.
