We are bombarded with messages about “super foods” and the role that they may play in cancer prevention. The problem, according to an article from the Washington Post, is that many of the studies aren’t definitive and don’t take into account the complexity of cancer in its many forms.

reports for the Washington Post:

“The messages that the public is getting are bits and pieces, without the big picture,” said Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. “It’s sort of the Wild West out there in terms of what people hear about nutrition and cancer.”

Of course, the blueberries we eat today are good for us. But nutrition’s role in cancer prevention is much more complex than a single dietary component: Evidence has mounted, for example, that lifestyle — diet, weight control and exercise — is vital in helping reduce risk. For now, experts endorse general dietary advice that is healthful for a variety of chronic diseases and conditions, rather than reductionist thinking that focuses on single foods or nutrients.