Our habits can have a great influence on the development of degenerative diseases such as Cancer. Thus, a recent study indicates that eating less meat could keep us away from this disease as well as, it would be useful to add fish and vegetables to the usual diet.
Meat consumption, determinant of cancer risk
Previous research links diets rich in vegetables with a lower risk of developing cancer. For this reason, a recent study published in BMC Medicine evaluated the link between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets with risk of all types of cancer.
A prospective analysis of more than 470 thousand participants who were cancer-free at enrolment, and who completed food frequency forms.
Based on the data collected, the participants were classified into carnivores regulars who were who they consumed meat five times or more per week; low meat consumers who ate less than the amount mentioned above; or fish eaters and vegetarians, the fish eaters being those who did not consume any type of meat, and the vegetarians those who did not consume meat or fish.
After a follow-up of about 11.4 incident cancers including colorectal cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer and prostate cancer were recorded.
The results indicate that, compared to carnivores or regular meat eaters, those who ate less meat as well as fish eaters and vegetarians, had a lower risk in all types of cancer.
Overall, lower meat consumption was associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer, as well as being a fish eater or vegetarian had an inverse relationship with the risk of prostate cancer.
On the other hand, vegetarian postmenopausal women had a lower risk of breast cancer. However, the relationship was reduced after considering the body mass index, which indicates that breast cancer risk linked more to body weight.
The study confirms that reducing meat intake is essential to reduce the risk of cancer colorectal cancer could also help reduce the chances of prostate cancer and breast cancer, especially if this goes hand in hand with a reduction in body weight.
In addition to the desire to prevent diseases such as cancer, it is always recommended add vegetables to the usual diet and if we are omnivores, choose fish as a source of protein instead of meatsince this last group of foods can offer saturated fats and trans fats (in the case of processed meats) that do not benefit the body at all, while fish are a source of unsaturated fats with an anti-inflammatory effect on our body.
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