Replacing Meat - How Foods Fight Cancer

Replacing Meat - How Foods Fight Cancer

Large research studies have shown that vegetarians are about
40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.

When cancer researchers started to look for links between diet and
cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was that people who
avoided meat were less likely to develop the disease. Large studies
in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40 percent
less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.1,2.3 In the United
States, researchers studied Seventh-day Adventists. This religious group is
remarkable because, although nearly all members avoid tobacco and alcohol
and follow generally healthful lifestyles, about half of the Adventist
population is vegetarian, while the others consume fairly modest amounts
of meat. This fact allowed scientists to separate the effects of eating meat
from other factors. Overall, these studies showed significant reductions in
cancer risk among those who avoided meat.4

Time and again, research points to red and processed meat consumption
as significantly increasing colorectal cancer risk when compared to the
diets of people who generally avoid these foods.5,6 In the Cancer Prevention
Study II, which involved 148,610 adults followed since 1982, the group
with the highest red meat intake had approximately 30–40 percent higher
colon cancer risk, and the group with the highest processed meat intake
had approximately 50 percent higher colon cancer risk compared to those
with lower intakes.7 In this study, high red meat intake was defined as
three ounces of beef, lamb, or pork for men and two ounces for women
daily. For comparison, a typical hamburger contains four ounces of beef.

Earlier studies have also indicated that those who consume white meat,
particularly chicken, have approximately a threefold higher colon cancer
risk compared to vegetarians,8 although other studies have not confirmed
this finding.
There is limited research evaluating the role of diet and colon cancer
survival; however, in a new study of 1,009 colon cancer patients, researchers
found that survival depended to a great extent on dietary habits. Those who
consumed more red and processed meats, sweets, and refined grains were
more likely to have a recurrence of or die from the disease after a median
five-year follow-up, while those who consumed more fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, and less red and processed meats and refined foods were less
likely to experience a recurrence and more likely to survive.9