Does this mean I can eat deep-fried ice cream with hot fudge?

A $415 million federal study that involved nearly 49,000 women ages 50 to 79, who were followed for eight years, found that a low-fat diet does not reduce the risk of getting cancer or heart disease.

The study however, did not make a distinction between saturated fats and poly, mono , or unsaturated fats; so there remains a question as to whether or not the much touted 'Mediterrean diet' is beneficial, although some medical specialists emphasized that the study did not mean people should abandon low-fat diets.

"What we are saying is that a modest reduction of fat and a substitution with fruits and vegetables did not do anything for heart disease and stroke or breast cancer or colorectal cancer," said Dr. Nanette K. Wenger, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "It doesn't say that this diet is not beneficial."