The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Legumes, soy food, and the risk of diabetes

    It’s suggested that a diet high in legumes might help prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus. But researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee found otherwise in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study.

    First, the details.

    • 64,227 middle-aged Chinese women with no history of type 2 diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease were followed for about 4.6 years.
    • They gave information about diabetes risk factors, including dietary intake and physical activity in adulthood.
    • Anthropometric (size and proportions) measurements were taken.
    • Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire at the beginning and 2 to 3 years later.

    And, the results.

    • Higher total legume intake (peanuts, soybeans, and other legumes) appeared to associated with a lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the difference was not statistically significant.
    • Soy products (other than soy milk) and soy protein consumption (protein derived from soy beans and their products) showed no relationship to the risk of type 2 diabetes.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded, “Consumption of legumes, soybeans in particular, was inversely associated with the risk type 2 diabetes mellitus.”

    I disagree. None of the statistical calculations reported reached p < 0.05. The rules of the game of clinical studies say that it happened by chance unless that level of statistical significance is reached. The real bottom line? Read the first paragraph. 1/13/08 16:15 JR

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