Research workers and scientists in Loma Linda University Health have conducted laboratory trials which convincingly prove that a regular vegan diet cuts down risk of contracting prostate cancer considerably. Trials were conducted on men as males are more likely to have prostate cancer compared to women and the findings were quite alarming and revealing as well. Details of the research made public in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The Key Lies in Sticking to a Vegetarian Diet
The study or research inferred that males were at a lesser risk of suffering from this dreaded form of cancer if they stuck to a vegetarian diet comprising mostly veggies and fruits. This assertion was true for both black and white males. The risk of getting bogged down with prostate cancer increases with age where white males aged 50+ and black men aged 40+ were most likely to be diagnosed with the ailment. To be specific, almost 66% of prostate cancer cases were traced to men aged 65+.
According to the study, your chances of being beset with this specific type of cancer would come down significantly if you switched to vegan diet from an omnivorous or non-vegetarian regimen. Dr. Gary Fraser, who monitored the study was of the opinion that those males who were already consuming meals that consisted of plant-based foods were better off than those whose diet mainly included fares prepared from eggs, meat, and dairy products. He went on to add that even those subsisting for the most part on egg, fish or lacto-based diets could also be categorized under the high risk zone.
The Adventist Health Study
The Adventist Health Study whose sample size was 26,346(males) attempted to find out the pattern between the disease and the different types of non vegan diets of men. Meat-based preparations, fish-based diets, semi-meat meals, dairy-cum-egg (lacto-ovo) dishes, and strictly vegan diet were the main sorts of eating habits that were put under the scanner. Those who exclusively consumed fruits, vegetables, whole grain preparations (like chapattis and breads), soy, lentils, pulses, and nuts were classed as pure vegetarians.
Those males who were genetically predisposed and took milk or ate cheese, curd, yogurt, cottage cheese, and other dairy products were advised to consume more fruits, green vegetables, whole grains, soy, soymilk, and nuts. However, this recommendation was put forth with the caveat that it was just an inference which was yet to be conclusively proved. Though the test was unable to establish or pinpoint a direct correlation between prostate cancer and one’s eating regimen, it could evidently conclude males following vegan diet were 33% less prone to become affected.
The Deductions and Findings
The research carried out by the medical center of Loma Linda University diagnosed a total of 1,079 cases. Of the 26,346 male subjects studied, nearly 8% asserted that they were strict vegetarians. As people are in the habit of consuming a wide variety of foods or food items, evaluating the dietary pattern or trend was a standard technique for verifying a nexus between prostate cancer and food habits.
Individuals who consumed processed meats and/or red meat were most vulnerable to different types of cancer, specifically colo-rectal cancers. Vegetarians were counseled to persist with vegan diet and non-vegans suggested to tone down and eventually give up consumption of meat, dairy or egg-based foods. Vegans were also recommended to increase and/or supplement intake of B12 vitamin.
Image credit: Елена Ерёменко