For years, vegetarian and vegan diets have not been on the sidelines, and more and more people are choosing them. A new study conducted by the Department of Health at Loma Linda University in California, United States, and published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that vegetarians’ chances of developing cancer are 12% lower than those of meat eaters. Vegans’ chances of developing cancer are 24% (!) lower than those of meat eaters.
For this cohort study, data from 78,468 participants were collected and analyzed. All participants started the study cancer-free, and between 2002 and 2007 their diets were examined using questionnaires. After several years, the number of cancer patients among all subjects was compared to the situation in the districts and states where they lived.
The data showed a much lower risk among people whose main diet was vegetarian. As far as is known, this is one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted on diet and its link to cancer.
And this is not the only study. Another comprehensive study that showed similar results was EPIC-Oxford from 2022. The study, the result of a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the cancer treatment through nutrition center (EPIC), included more than 60,000 subjects and found that vegetarians have a 22%-23% lower chance of disease compared to meat eaters, and their diet also helps reduce cancer risk by 10% to 18%.
And in 2017, a meta-analysis was conducted at the University of Florence with the results of 96 studies. The analysis of the studies on the subject showed that a vegetarian diet reduces the chances of heart disease by 25% and reduces the chances of cancer by 8%.
Good for the environment too
Research also shows that a vegetarian diet leads to a decrease in pollution. According to several studies and meta-analyses, a vegetarian diet reduces a person’s carbon footprint by 30% to 50% compared to meat eaters.
Studies present a clear formula showing that beef, lamb, and pork are the types of meat whose production causes the most significant pollution (chicken, tofu, legumes, and eggs are less polluting protein sources).
So, the right and wise thing to do—for us, for our bodies, for medicine, and for climate science—is simply to eat less meat, reduce our dependence on animal protein, and live healthier and less polluting lives.
If many do this, many will be healthier, and our environment will be less polluted.