Following a vegetarian diet could lower the likelihood of developing five different types of cancer by as much as 30 per cent, according to groundbreaking research from the University of Oxford.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer, represent the most extensive investigation of its kind to date.
They show that individuals who abstain from meat consumption face reduced risks of pancreatic, breast, kidney and prostate cancers, alongside multiple myeloma, when measured against those who regularly eat meat.
Scientists reached this conclusion through an analysis of data from participants predominantly based in Britain and the United States.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
Kidney cancer risk dropped by 28 per cent among those abstaining from meat
|GETTY
After quantifying the protective effects with notable precision, it appeared vegetarians enjoyed a 21 per cent reduction in pancreatic cancer risk and a 9 per cent decrease for breast cancer.
Kidney cancer risk dropped by 28 per cent among those eschewing meat, while prostate cancer showed a 12 per cent reduction.
Multiple myeloma demonstrated the most striking difference, with vegetarians experiencing a 31 per cent lower risk compared to their meat-eating counterparts. It should be noted that the findings were not uniformly positive, however.
Those following a vegetarian diet faced nearly twice the risk of developing oesophageal cancer when compared with regular meat consumers.
The researchers acknowledged that further investigation would be required to determine whether meat consumption itself poses the problem or whether particular elements within plant-based diets offer protection.
Tim Key, who co-authored the study, said: "My feeling is the differences are more likely to be related to meat itself than to simply vegetarians eating more healthy foods."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The emeritus professor of epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health added: "But that's sort of an opinion which we haven't looked at directly."
The landmark research encompassed more than 1.8 million participants, including 1.64 million meat eaters, over 63,000 vegetarians and nearly 9,000 vegans.
Overall dietary habits matter more than focusing on individual food items
|GETTY
Amy Hirst, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, described the work as a "high-quality study" that offered interesting insights, though she cautioned that the findings were not strong enough to draw definitive conclusions.
She said: "More research in larger, more diverse populations is needed to better understand these patterns and what's causing them.
"When it comes to reducing cancer risk, keeping a healthy, balanced diet overall matters more than individual foods."
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter