March 9, 2015 — A plant-based diet may lower the risk of colorectal cancers, particularly if it includes seafood and fish, a large U.S. study finds.
Previous research suggests that vegetarians have a reduced risk of certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. The current study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, offers fresh insight into the health benefits of different types of plant-based diets.
"We were surprised to find that pescovegetarians had a significantly lower risk of colorectal cancers than people on other vegetarian diets," said lead study author Dr. Michael Orlich, an assistant professor in medicine and public health at Loma Linda University in California.
Orlich and colleagues used dietary questionnaires, medical records, and cancer registries to examine the link between eating habits and cancer prevalence in a nationwide sample of 77,659 Seventh-Day Adventists, a religion that encourages a healthy lifestyle and abstinence from smoking and drinking.
After an average follow-up of 7.3 years, there were 380 cases of colon cancer and 110 cases of rectal cancer. Overall, compared to regular meat eaters, the vegetarians were 22% less likely to have colorectal malignancies, the study found.
Read the full story at the New York Daily News