[Villages PL]

Just a reminder: This is the "Medical and Health Discussion" board.

I thought you might find this interesting. Every once in a while Rush talks about health and the following story is a story that he has told more than a couple of times:

Rush said that he knew a man who wanted to be healthy, and this man heard that blueberries are healthy. He was eating blueberries all the time. But, eventually, the man got cancer and died. (End of story.)

From my understanding of it, the moral of the story is that you just never know....you can't plan to be healthy with any certainty as to what the outcome will be.

But what I wonder is this: Why was there so little information given about this man? Here are some questions that come to mind:

1) How old was the man?

2) What risk factors did the man have? Was he a smoker or ex-smoker? Was he a heavy drinker or recovering alcoholic? Was he overweight and suffering from diabetes? Did he already have cancer once before? Was he in remission?

3) What type of cancer did he get after starting his blueberry regimen?

4) It was said that he ate "a lot" of blueberries. How much is "a lot"? One cup per day? 2 cups per day? More than 2 cups?

5) What did the rest of his diet consist of? Did he combine blueberries with processed desserts?

6) Was he a veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, or other harsh chemicals?

7) Had he been exposed to asbestos at some time in his life?

8) The CDC says that a small percentage of cancers are genetic. Perhaps about 3 to 5%. Was this man's cancer genetic?

How are we expected to form a conclusion about blueberries (or healthy living in general) with the small amount of anecdotal evidence that was provided in Rush's story?