Vegetarians are 12% less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters, according to research carried out at Oxford University.
The new study, published by scientists at the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, followed more than 61,000 people over a 12 year period. During that time 3,350 of the participants were diagnosed with cancer.
The risk of being diagnosed with cancers of the stomach and bladder were found to be lower in vegetarians compared to their meat-eating counterparts. The widest disparity was found in cancers of the blood, such as leukaemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the likelihood of the disease was reduced by 45% in people who abstain from meat.
These differences in risks were found to be independent of other factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, and obesity.
The leader of the study Professor Tim Key however pointed out that “More research is needed to substantiate these results and to look for reasons for the differences.”
