Vegetarians have a 14 percent lower chance of developing cancer than carnivores, a large study that links meat-eating to a heightened risk of the disease said.
A team of researchers from the University of Oxford analyzed data on more than 470,000 Britons and found that pescatarians had a 10 percent reduced risk.
Compared with people who eat meat regularly — defined as more than five times a week — those who consumed small amounts had a 2 percent lower risk of developing cancer, the study found.
Photo: Reuters
“In this large British cohort, being a low meat-eater, fish-eater or vegetarian was associated with a lower risk of all cancer sites when compared to regular meat-eaters,” the analysis found.
However, the authors, led by Cody Watling from Oxford’s population health cancer epidemiology unit, made clear that their findings did not conclusively prove regular meat-eating increased the risk of cancer.
Smoking and body fat could also help explain the differences found, they said.
Their UK Biobank study also found that:
‧ Low meat-eaters — who consume meat five or fewer times a week — had a 9 percent lower risk of developing bowel cancer than regular meat-eaters.
‧ Vegetarian women were 18 percent less likely than those who ate meat regularly to develop postmenopausal breast cancer, though that might be due to their lower body mass index.
‧ Vegetarian men have a 31 percent lower risk of prostate cancer, while among male pescatarians it is 20 percent lower.
The results “suggest that specific dietary behaviors such as low meat [and] vegetarian or pescatarian diets can have an impact on reducing the risk of certain cancers; in this case bowel, breast and prostate,” said Giota Mitrou, director of research and innovation at World Cancer Research Fund International, which cofunded the study with Cancer Research UK.
The results confirm the fund’s longstanding advice that people should limit their intake of red and processed meat, and eat more wholegrains, vegetables, fruit and pulses, she added.
“The lower risk of colorectal [bowel] cancer in low meat-eaters is consistent with previous evidence suggesting an adverse impact of meat intake,” the Oxford study authors said.
“It is not clear whether the other differences observed for all cancers and for prostate cancer reflect any causal relationship or are due to other factors,” they said.
While the researchers found that “being a low meat-eater, pescatarian or vegetarian was associated with a lower risk of all cancer,” they added that this “may be a result of dietary factors and/or non-dietary differences in lifestyle, such as smoking.”
Their results were published yesterday in the journal BMC Medicine.
“This study adds to a growing body of research reinforcing the positive, protective effects of a vegetarian diet,” Vegetarian Society chief executive Richard McIlwain said.
“With cancer now affecting one in every two of us across the country, adopting a healthy vegetarian diet can clearly play a role in preventing this disease. Indeed, evidence from previous surveys suggests a balanced vegetarian diet can also reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, in addition to cancers,” he said.
Watling and his colleagues are undertaking further research among vegetarians, pescatarians and vegans to examine more closely the relationship between diet and cancer risk.
Between 5 and 7 percent of Britons are thought to be vegetarian, and 2 to 3 percent follow a vegan diet, according to surveys by YouGov.
While reducing intake of processed meat has been proven to reduce the risk of bowel cancer, “having some bacon or ham every now and then won’t do much harm,” said Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s head of health and patient information.
“If you are having a lot of meat a lot of the time then cutting down is a good idea, but a vegetarian diet doesn’t always mean someone is eating healthily,” she added
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
RSS