Study links low-meat and meat-free diets with overall cancer risk

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Overall cancer risk was 14% lower among vegetarians and vegans in comparison to those who ate meat five times or less per week

Eating meat five times or less per week is associated with a lower overall cancer risk, according to a study conducted by the University of Oxford, UK

The researchers investigated the relationship between diet and cancer risk by analysing data collected from 472,377 British adults who were recruited to the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010. Participants, who were aged between 40 and 70 years, reported how frequently they ate meat and fish and the researchers calculated the incidence of new cancers that developed over an average period of 11 years using health records.

The researchers found that the overall cancer risk was 2% lower among those who ate meat five times or less per week, 10% lower among those who ate fish but not meat, and 14% lower among vegetarians and vegans, compared to those who ate meat more than five times per week.

When comparing the incidence of specific cancers with participants’ diet, the authors found that those who ate meat five times or less per week had a 9% lower risk of colorectal cancer, compared to those who ate meat more than five times per week.

They also found that the risk of prostate cancer was 20% lower among men who ate fish but not meat and 31% lower among men who followed a vegetarian diet, compared to those who ate meat more than five times per week.

The authors suggest that future research could investigate the associations between diets containing little or no meat and the risk of individual cancers in larger populations with longer follow-up periods.

 

 

 

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