Vegetarian diet slashes cancer risk by up to 31%

NEW STUDY OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO PREVENTING ILLNESS BUT IT'S NOT ALL GOOD NEWS FOR MEAT AVOIDERS

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A VEGETARIAN diet can slash the risk of five cancers by as much as 30 per cent, research suggests.

The largest ever study of its kind found vegetarians have a 21 per cent lower risk of pancreatic cancer and a nine per cent lower risk of breast cancer compared with meat eaters.

They also have a 12 per cent reduced risk of prostate cancer, 28 per cent lower risk of kidney cancer and 31 per cent lower risk of multiple myeloma.

However, researchers at the University of Oxford found vegetarians have nearly double the risk of the most common type of cancer of the oesophagus compared with meat eaters.

This might be due to vegetarians missing out on some key nutrients, the team suggested.