This is not a debate over the ethical aspects of meat consumption. This is not about whether eating meat is good or bad. It is about finding what helps cancer grow and what restricts its march so that we can make lifestyle changes to fight the dreaded disease. Recently, a new large-scale study, co-funded by World Cancer Research Fund and Cancer Research UK, found that following a
The team of researchers at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford set out with an aim to assess the associations of vegetarian and
The Oxford-based team investigated the relationship between diet and
Based on dietary questions completed at recruitment, participants were categorised into:
Group 1: Regular meat eaters (those who ate meat more than five times a week)
Group 2: Low amount of meat consumers (those who ate meat five times or less per week)
Group 3: Pescatarians (those who ate fish and
Group 4: Vegetarians (diets free of all meat)
After an average follow-up of 11.4 years, 54,961 incident cancers were identified, including 5882 colorectal, 7537 postmenopausal breast, and 9501 prostate cancers.
What the study found:
- Compared with regular meat-eaters, being a low meat-eater, fish-eater, or vegetarian were all associated with a lower risk of all cancer.
- Being a low meat-eater was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in comparison to regular meat-eaters.
- Vegetarian postmenopausal women had a lower risk of breast cancer but the ones who were overweight or obese had no such advantage despite being vegetarian. That clearly means BMI has a role to play in the development of cancer.
- In men, being a fish-eater or a vegetarian was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer. However, other factors such as smoking and body mass index may also play a part.
From the study’s findings, it can be derived that specific dietary behaviour, such as reduced meat consumption or following a vegetarian diet, can help reduce the risk of certain cancers. Health experts have time and again reiterated that limiting the intake of red and processed meat and eating more whole foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and pulses is beneficial to health and increases one’s chances of leading a disease-free life.