A vegetarian diet protects against colon cancer in men. And not only because of the lack of meat

A vegetarian diet appears to protect men against colon cancer. And not just because it contains no meat.

A vegan diet is rich in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes and it makes sense that it contains little or no animal products such as meat and dairy. according to Latest research Such a diet, in which refined sugars are neglected as much as possible, reduces the risk of colon cancer in men.

Women live healthy lives
Researcher Jihye Kim explains: “Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer worldwide, affecting 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women. Although previous research has already indicated that a vegetarian diet may play a role, In preventing colon cancer, however, the impact of the nutritional value of plant-based foods is still not clear. Our findings now prove that this diet does indeed help prevent colon cancer.”

Of the nearly 80,000 American men with an average age of 60 years studied, the group with the highest average daily intake of plant foods had a 22 percent increased risk of developing colon cancer compared to the group with the lowest plant-based diet. Surprisingly, the researchers found no association between the women. Jihye Kim explains to Saintias: “This may be because women generally eat healthier than men. In our study, we also saw that women eat more healthy plant foods and less unhealthy plant or animal foods than men. A plant-based diet may have more advantages for men, because they They eat less healthily.” There is, as it were, more profit to be made.

Antioxidants
The researcher also explains: “We suspect that the antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may contribute to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer by helping to suppress the chronic inflammation that may underlie it. Since men are more likely to develop colorectal cancer, we believe that this It may partially explain why larger amounts of plant foods reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in men but not in women.”

Jihye Kim emphasizes that the effect is not determined solely by the presence or absence of meat in the diet. After all, red and processed meats are known to increase your risk of colon cancer. Perhaps the vegetarian diet itself contributes to reducing cancer risk, not just the lack of meat. Eating plenty of healthy plant products and fewer unhealthy plant and animal foods can help prevent colon cancer.

white men
The researchers also looked at racial differences. showed that white American men who ate the most plant foods had a 24 percent lower risk of developing colon cancer than those who ate the least plant foods. This difference was slightly lower among Japanese-American men at 20 percent. In fact, in African American men, no link whatsoever was found between diet and disease.

Jihye Kim: “We suspect that the association was stronger between white men and Japanese-American men because of differences in other colorectal cancer risk factors between ethnic groups.” The researcher was surprised that there was such a big difference between the races. “Further research should show whether genetic differences play a role in addition to lifestyle factors.”

Lots of whole grains or not
For the study, participants reported their usual food and drink intake in the previous year and researchers assessed whether this was a healthy plant-based diet, consisting of many whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, or unhealthy, with lots of added sugars, soft drinks, and refined carbohydrates. .
The researchers then recorded the number of cases of colon cancer that occurred from the start of the study in 1993 through 2017. They adjusted for family history, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and daily calorie intake.

reservations
What remained was a significant effect of the vegan diet on colorectal cancer risk in men, although the researchers emphasized that this was an observational study and therefore a causal relationship could not be established. Nor did they look at the effects of fish and dairy products, for example. Furthermore, it does not take into account that the participants’ diet may have changed over the years.

However, it appears strongly that a plant-based diet consisting of healthy foods can actually protect men against colon cancer.