A major new study tracking nearly 80,000 members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America has revealed that people who avoid meat may significantly reduce their risk of developing various cancers. This comprehensive research, one of the most detailed to date on vegetarian diets, found that vegetarian diets were associated with a 12% overall lower risk of cancer compared to meat eaters.
The study followed participants for an average of almost eight years, monitoring their diets and health closely. The most notable reductions were seen in colorectal cancer (21% lower risk), stomach cancer (45% lower risk), and lymphoproliferative cancers like lymphoma (25% lower risk).
Among different types of plant-based diets, vegans — who consume no animal products — experienced the largest overall decrease in cancer risk, at 24%. This group also showed lower rates of breast cancer and prostate cancer in younger men. Lacto-ovo vegetarians (those who eat dairy and eggs) had reduced risks of some blood cancers, while pescatarians (who eat fish but no other meat) showed fewer colorectal cancers.
The researchers accounted for lifestyle differences such as body weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, education level, and hormone therapy use, but could not fully isolate the impact of diet alone on cancer risk.
Cancer remains a significant public health challenge in the UK and worldwide. In the UK, approximately 395,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed annually, with rising rates especially among people under 50, linked partly to obesity and unhealthy diets.
The study’s authors emphasize that while vegetarian diets are not a cure-all, they appear to offer protective benefits against several types of cancer with minimal risk, suggesting their potential value in cancer prevention strategies.
Dr. Tilman Kuhn from Queen’s University Belfast, who was not involved in the study, noted the findings on reduced gastrointestinal cancers align with previous research linking high-fiber, low-meat diets to lower risk. He described the findings on breast, prostate, and lymphoma cancers as more unexpected and said the study’s long-term observation of a large vegan and vegetarian cohort makes it especially valuable.
The research was conducted by scientists at Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in California, and the findings were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
