As an MFMer, you’re already likely to be eating far more than your five fresh fruits and vegetables a day, improving your nutrition as you save the planet, so here’s another five benefits to celebrate.
New cancer research from Oxford has shown that meat free eating lowers the risk of getting five types of the disease: cancer of the pancreas, prostate, breast, kidney and plasma cells, known as multiple myeloma. The first three of those are together responsible for a fifth of the UK’s cancer deaths.
In a cohort of more than 1.8 million people whose data was tracked over an average 16 years, the risk for vegetarians of developing breast cancer was lower by a tenth (9 per cent); of developing prostate cancer was lower by an eighth (12 per cent), lower by a fifth (21 per cent) for pancreatic cancer, more than a quarter (28 per cent) for kidney cancer; and almost a third (31 per cent) for multiple myeloma.
“This study is really good news for those who follow a vegetarian diet because they have a lower risk of five cancer types, some of which are very prevalent in the population,” said lead researcher Dr Aurora Pérez-Cornago. According to Cancer Research UK, in 2022-2024 prostate cancer killed 12,300 people, breast cancer 11,200 people and pancreatic cancer 10,200. Previous research has suggested a vegan diet can cut the risk of getting prostate cancer by a third and can be effective at slowing the progress of the disease.
Meat-free and plant-based eaters have typically not been well represented in research figures on diet and health, so the scientists used data from studies around the world to include 63,147 vegetarians and 8,849 vegans, alongside the 1.64 million meat eaters, 57,016 people who eat chicken but not read meat, and others. The research was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund.
It wasn’t all good news for the footloose and meat-free, though. The research, which looked at 17 types of cancer, found that for vegetarians the risk of getting squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of oesophageal cancer, is almost double that of meat eaters, possibly due to B vitamin deficiency. To ensure your levels of B vitamins remain high, eats lots of peas, nuts, bananas and oranges (B1 thiamin); mushrooms and plain yoghurt (B2 riboflavin); avocado, sweetcorn and asparagus (B3 niacin); and chickpeas, spinach and sweet potatoes (B6). Or simply tuck into the Meat Free Monday recipe pages.
While the study also found no evidence to suggest that vegetarians were less at risk of bowel cancer than meat eaters, it was heartening to see the researchers conclude that was simply because the carnivores in the cohort were eating less red and processed meat.