For years, study after study has suggested that following a meat-free diet can help reduce the risk of developing several chronic diseases, including cancer. Now, the largest study of its kind has once again confirmed that going vegetarian may offer significant health benefits. In fact, the major new study, conducted by the University of Oxford, suggests that adopting a meat-free diet can significantly reduce the risk of five types of cancer.
To reach their conclusions, researchers evaluated more than 1.6 million meat-eaters, alongside thousands of pescatarians, vegetarians, vegans, and people who only eat chicken. They found that vegetarians have a 21 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer, a nine percent lower risk of breast cancer, a 12 percent lower risk of prostate cancer, a 28 percent lower risk of kidney cancer, and a 31 percent lower risk of multiple myeloma.
The study also suggested, however, that vegetarians may have a higher risk of oesophageal cancer, potentially due to nutrient deficiencies.
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Interestingly, the study found that vegans had a higher risk of bowel cancer than meat-eaters. However, the researchers stressed that more investigation is needed to understand why this might be. While they speculated that calcium deficiency could play a role, they also acknowledged that the results may be skewed. Vegans were the smallest group in the study, totaling just over 8,800 participants.
It’s important to note that a substantial body of research outside this study suggests that vegans have a much lower risk of colorectal cancer. This may be because processed meats, such as bacon and sausages, are known to significantly increase the risk of this type of cancer. Fiber-rich plant-based foods, on the other hand, are associated with a reduced risk.
The bottom line: meat-free diets are consistently linked with a lower risk of cancer
The study’s principal investigator, Aurora Perez-Cornago, echoed this understanding in her statement on the findings.
“Vegetarians typically consume more fruit, vegetables, and fiber than meat eaters and no processed meat, which may contribute to lower risks of some cancers,” she said.
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“The higher risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in vegetarians and bowel cancer in vegans may relate to lower intakes of certain nutrients more abundant in animal foods,” she added. “Additional research is needed to understand what is driving the differences in cancer risk found in our study.”
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It’s also vital to underscore that following a well-planned plant-based diet—typically including vitamin B12 supplementation—can help most people avoid nutritional deficiencies.
Other researchers argued that the most obvious conclusion should not be overlooked: people who did not eat meat tended to have a much lower risk of cancer, suggesting that meat itself is a key contributing factor.
“My feeling is the differences are more likely to be related to meat itself than to simply vegetarians eating more healthy foods,” Tim Key, emeritus professor of epidemiology at Oxford Population Health and co-investigator of the study, told Sky News. “But that’s sort of an opinion which we haven’t looked at directly.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
