PEOPLE who eat less meat products have a lower chance of developing cancer than carnivores, experts have found.
Researchers at the University of Oxford say that by just cutting out meat twice a week, you could slash your risk of cancer.
The NHS says that meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals – but warns that eating meat high in saturated fat could raise blood cholesterol levels if you eat too much.
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the US also states that you should limit foods high in saturated fat.
The new study suggests that being a low meat eater (eating meat twice a week or less), fish eater (pescatarian) or vegetarian is associated with a lower risk of all cancers.
Data from over 470,000 Brits was analysed and experts found that pescatarians had a 10 per cent reduced cancer risk.
This was compared to people who ate meat more than five times a week.
Those who consumed small amounts had a two per cent lower risk of developing cancer – with vegetarians – those who eat no meat at all, having a 14 per cent lower chance of developing the illness.
Prof Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Reading said the study shows that a vegetarian lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases.
He explained that this could be due to the fact that people who are following such diets are usually more health-conscious and tend to be more physically active and less likely to smoke.
“Secondly, people on vegetarian or pescatarian diets are often also better educated and live in less deprived conditions – both factors that are known to have a strong link with health”, he added.
The researchers also found that low meat eaters who consumed meat five or fewer times a week, had a nine per cent lower risk of developing bowel cancer than regular meat eaters.
The NHS says that eating a lot of red and processed meat probably increases your risk of bowel cancer.
The study also found that vegetarian women were 18 per cent less likely than those who ate meat on a regular basis to develop postmenopausal breast cancer.
‘OTHER FACTORS’
However the experts highlighted that this could be due to lower body mass index (BMI).
Researchers also revealed that vegetarian men have a 31 per cent lower risk of prostate cancer, with pescatarians having a 20 per cent lower risk.
The authors of the study said that while the results are positive, they could also partly be down to other non-dietary factors – such as whether a person smokes or not.
They added: “The lower risk of colorectal [bowel] cancer in low meat-eaters is consistent with previous evidence suggesting an adverse impact of meat intake.
“Vegetarian women’s lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer is likely to be “largely” explained by their lower BMI.
“It is not clear whether the other differences observed for all cancers and for prostate cancer reflect any causal relationship or are due to other factors.”
