Following a vegetarian diet can reduce the risk by up to 14% of developing cancer, compared to a diet that regularly consumed meat. Pescetarians and those who regularly eat little meat are also less likely to contract the disease, according to a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Oxford.
The work, published today in BMC Medicine, is based on the analysis of data collected from 472,377 adults British in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010, who did not have any type of cancer at the time of their recruitment. After monitoring it for more than 11 years, the study concludes that being a low meat eater, pescetarian or vegetarian is associated with a lower risk of all types of cancerand more specifically with colorectal, breast and prostate cancer.
Less meat consumption, less risk
The team led by Cody Watlingfrom the Epidemiology Unit of the Oxford Department of Population Health, worked by analyzing the dietary patterns of the participants divided into four groups: habitual meat consumers, occasional consumers, pescetarians and vegetarians. It is understood that an unusual consumption of meat (low meat eaters) It is five or fewer times a week.
Behind the tracing From data over an average of 11.4 years, in which they identified different types of cancer, the study highlights several conclusions:
- Compared with regular consumers, being a low meat eater, pescetarian, or vegetarian was associated with a lower risk of all types of cancer.
- Being a low meat eater was associated with a 9% lower risk of developing Colorectal cancer compared to regular carnivores (more than five meals per week).
- Postmenopausal vegetarian women had an 18% lower risk of breast canceralthough it is probably due to the lower body mass index of these.
- In men, being a pescetarian or vegetarian (not consuming any type of meat) was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer20% and 31% respectively.
Watling points out, however, that the results of this work does not conclusively show that regular meat consumption increases cancer risk, since it is a cohort study. Other factors external to diet should be taken into account, although usually related to it, such as smoking, body fat, lifestyle or available medical services.
The results obtained do coincide with the previous evidence that being a little meat eater or vegetarian is linked to a significantly lower risk of all types of cancer, and especially colorectal cancer. “Are needed more investigations future studies evaluating cancer risk in cohorts with larger numbers of vegetarians to further explore potential explanations for these observed differences,” Watling concludes.
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