Vegetarian diet lowers cancer risk, reveals study of 1.8M people
What's the story
A major new study has found that vegetarians have a significantly lower risk of developing five types of cancer. The research, which analyzed data from over 1.8 million people over several years, found that those who follow a vegetarian diet had a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer and a 12% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to meat eaters.
Additional findings
Significant reduction in risk for several cancers
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, also found that vegetarians had a 9% lower risk of breast cancer. This is significant as these three types of cancer—pancreatic, prostate, and breast—account for nearly one-fifth of all cancer deaths in the UK. The research further revealed an even greater reduction in risk for kidney cancer (28%) and multiple myeloma (31%) among vegetarians.
Research approach
Comprehensive study on diet and cancer link
The study, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, examined 17 different cancers. It included data from various global studies on diet and health to overcome the challenge of low vegetarian and vegan representation in previous research. This allowed researchers to analyze data from an average of 1.64 million meat eaters, 57,016 poultry eaters (no red meat), 42,910 pescatarians (fish-eating but no meat), 63,147 vegetarians and 8,849 vegans over an average follow-up period of 16 years.
Nutritional gaps
Increased risk of other cancers
Despite the overall protective effect of vegetarianism, the study also found that vegetarians had nearly double the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, a common type of esophageal cancer. This was compared to meat eaters and could be due to vegetarians lacking essential nutrients such as B vitamins. Vegans were also found to have a 40% higher risk of bowel cancer than meat eaters, possibly due to low calcium intake and other nutrients.