The results are not a surprise, ... We have come to understand many of the pieces - and they add up to major health benefits.

You might ask yourself why you want to surprise your readers in the first place. A surprise ending is sort of like a surprise party. Probably some people, somewhere, enjoy having friends and trusted colleagues lunge at them in the sudden blinding light of their own living room, but I don't think most of us do.

All we need is to add one or two pieces to the puzzle and -- boom -- we're going to be there. I don't think we're going to win the World Series right away. But we are finally going to give the fans something to cheer for.

Even if you do see a small benefit for, say, breast cancer, you couldn't be sure it was due to fat and not due to the fact that the women also increased their fruit and vegetable intake and there was also a small weight loss. I think it's clear this study was a mistake.

One of the problems with a low-fat diet is that it actually drives down the good cholesterol -- the HDL -- in our blood (and that) ... will probably increase the risk of heart disease,

With breast cancer, nothing is straightforward. It makes sense for most people to make their dietary decisions based on what it does for heart disease. That's where the data are most strong.