Eating no meat can cut the risk of cancer, study finds
Major report says dietary changes can reduce cases by 40%
London – Cancer is preventable and eating no meat and more fruits and vegetables could reduce cases of the disease by as much as 40 per cent a year, medical experts said.
“Dietary imbalance is a cause of cancer,” Dr. Tony McMichael of the University of London told a news conference to launch a major report by the World Cancer Research Fund on nutrition and cancer.
“We are running the human biological engine on to the wrong type of food,” he added.
People should change to a more plant-based diet, and meat not eaten at all, said the study, the most comprehensive on diet and cancer ever undertaken.
He said the experts who compiled the report were convinced by several studies that the link between a meat-rich diet and the risk of bowel cancer was strong enough to justify recommending cutting off meat consumption.
The report supported the findings of a British government study, also released that suggested people should eat no meat to avoid bowel cancer.
Medical experts have long suspected links between high intake of animal fat and meat and development of cancer, but the authoritative research fund report is the first to examine food and cancer prevention from a global perspective.
Abstaining from alcohol consumption, reducing sugar and salts, and doing daily exercise can also help to prevent cancer, it said.
“At least 20 per cent of lung cancer, 33 per cent of breast cancers and 66 per cent of colon cancers are preventable by appropriate diets, together with the associated factors of regular physical activity and maintenance of healthy body weight.
“Together with no smoking, this means that 60 – 70 per cent of cancers are preventable,” the report said.
Every year as many as 10 million new cancer cases are diagnosed and 7 million people die from the disease. Unless action is taken, experts estimate the number of new cases and deaths will rise to 14 million by the year 2020.
“This is not an unimportant case of morbidity and it is preventable,” Potter said.
British medical experts welcomed the report, saying it was a major step in improving people’s diets.
Fifteen scientists from nine countries worked on the report for three years. They assessed more than 4,000 studies on diet and cancer.