Going vegan could slash risk of cancer killers by up to 25 per cent,
Ditching meat and dairy could slash the risk of deadly cancers by up to a quarter, scientists say.
A major study of nearly 80,000 people found vegans were 25 per cent less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters—with the diet linked to lower rates of breast cancer and prostate cancer in younger men.
Researchers followed members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America for eight years and found vegetarians also cut their cancer risk by 12 per cent.
Among this group, rates of colorectal cancer fell by 21 per cent, stomach cancer by 45 per cent and lymphoma by 25 per cent.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians—who eat dairy and eggs—had a lower risk of blood cancers, while pescatarians were less likely to get colorectal cancer.
The study also revealed that, compared with meat eaters, vegetarians tended to be leaner, drank less alcohol, smoked less and exercised slightly more.
They were also less likely to have used oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy.
While researchers adjusted for these factors, they said it was impossible to rule out that lifestyle differences such as these may have influenced cancer risk.
The findings, from scientists at Loma Linda University in California, were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
It comes amid growing concern over a baffling rise in cancers among young people.
A recent global review found rates of colorectal cancer—also known as bowel cancer —in under-50s are climbing in 27 out of 50 countries.
England has one of the steepest increases, with cases in younger adults rising by an average of 3.6 per cent a year, while in the US, the rate is going up by around two per cent annually.
While bowel cancer is linked to obesity, doctors warn it is also striking fit and healthy patients.
Some believe environmental factors—such as exposure to plastics or pollution—could be to blame.
Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, and a lump in the abdomen.
Bleeding from the back passage or blood in the stool can occur when tumours bleed into the digestive tract.
However, bowel cancer can also appear with no symptoms until it has spread, making it far harder to treat. Just over half of patients survive 10 years after diagnosis.
Other cancers are also on the rise in younger age groups. Rates of metastatic breast cancer—which has spread to other parts of the body—in women under 40 increased by 3.5 per cent a year between 2004 and 2017, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, is now the most common cancer in young people.
A landmark study by Cancer Research UK examining 50 years of NHS data found the risk of developing all cancers has risen sharply, with experts believing a mix of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors may be driving the trend.
