It was baffling, frustrating -- yet also, in a way, secretly gratifying. Last week, the largest study to follow low-fat dieters concluded there weren't any definite protective benefits.

To the surprise of many scientists, the study didn't show that a lower-fat diet leads to less incidence of breast cancer, colon cancer or heart disease. In fact, one way to sum up this study is:

Sorry. Bad things still happen even to good dieters.

The disappointing results of this study, which tracked nearly 50,000 women, gave all of us an excuse to duck into the nearest doughnut shop, ranting. Or at least pondering a consoling thought: Have the nation's nutritionists gone nuts? They've been exhorting us for years, after all, to eat less fat. Maybe their brains turned orange long ago from eating too many carrots.