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  1. Health and Nutrition News

  2. Nov 18, 2015

Vegan Diets Protect Against Prostate Cancer

A vegetarian diet lowers your risk for prostate cancer, according to a study published online this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers compared several dietary patterns and cancer incidence rates for 26,346 participants from the Adventist Health Study-2. Those who followed a vegan diet were less likely to be obese and experienced a 35 percent lower prostate cancer risk than those following a nonvegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, or semi-vegetarian diet. Researchers suspect higher intakes of fiber, soy, and anti-inflammatory antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and lower intakes of saturated fat, animal protein, and serum insulin-like growth factor 1 from dairy products from a vegan diet contributed to lower cancer risk.

References

  1. Tantamango-Bartley T, Knutsen SF, Knutsen R, et al. Are strict vegetarians protected against prostate cancer? Am J Clin Nutr. Published online November 11, 2015.  

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