Can vegetarianism prevent colon cancer?

On average, vegetarians can reduce the risk of colon cancer and rectal cancer by 20% respectively compared with non-vegetarians who eat meat at least once a week. In addition to eating less meat, vegetarians also eat less sweets, snacks, refined grains and high-calorie beverages, and eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts.

Different types of food have different effects. For many years, clinical studies have found that fish vegetarians, who eat fish and seafood but no other meat, have a nearly 40% lower risk of colon cancer. Vegetarians who don't eat meat but do eat eggs and dairy products have a nearly 20% lower risk of colon tumors.

Strict vegetarians, who cut out all meat, eggs and dairy products, had a nearly 20 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer. Semi-vegetarians, who ate meat less than once a week, had a nearly 10 percent lower risk of colon cancer. Because vegetarians also followed other healthy habits, such as exercise and not smoking, these habits also reduced their risk of cancer.

Existing routine colonoscopy technology is recommended for people at higher-than-average risk of colon cancer after age 45 to help prevent the disease by finding and removing precancerous tissue as soon as possible. Eating red and processed meat increases the risk of colon cancer, while eating fiber-rich foods reduces the risk. This new study delves deeper into the impact of different dietary habits.