American Cancer Society To Research How Vegan Meats Can Help Prevent Cancer

EAT

Nov 28

The society will invest in long-term research over several years to help add to the growing evidence of how diets that incorporate vegan meats and plant-based foods can help cancer prevention.

The American Cancer Society has announced a new research focus that will explore the link between plant-based meats and cancer prevention.

With cancer the second leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States, the research will help advance the understanding of how plant-based meats contribute to healthy diet patterns and help prevent the risk of cancers.

“American Cancer Society guidelines have long recommended a diet rich in plant foods with limited intake of processed and red meat,” said William L. Dahut, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society. “While short-term research studies have shown that switching to plant-based meat improves risk factors for heart disease, including cholesterol levels and body weight, research in this area is still in its early stages, particularly in relation to cancer.”

Plant-Based Diets to Fight Cancer

The move follows an increasing global awareness of how a diet rich in plant-based foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes can help reduce the risk of cancer.

The American Cancer Society currently recommends limiting processed meats, red meats and choosing alternative protein sources, and its research shows consistent and compelling evidence that healthy diet patterns incorporating more plant-based foods are linked with lower cancer risk and mortality.

As well as continuing research in this area, its future research will also examine how plant-based meats like Beyond Meat can contribute to healthier diets that have a lower risk of cancer than diets that incorporate animal-based meat.

Initial studies have shown that swapping meat for plant-based meats has health benefits. Stanford University School of Medicine recently studied the impact of replacing animal-based meat with Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat over an eight week period on cholesterol levels, heart disease risk factors, and body weight. The research found improvement in key health metrics when participants replaced animal-based meat with the plant-based meat.

Eating Meat and Cancer Risk

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is among the many leading health organisations and cancer societies that makes a direct link between meat intake and an increased risk of specific types of cancer. Processed meats, including ham, bacon, salami, sausages, and frankfurters, are classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning they are known to cause cancer. Eating the equivalent of less than two slices of bacon a day increases your chance of colorectal cancer by 18%. Red meat, such as beef, lamb, and pork, has been classified as a Group 2A carcinogen, meaning it probably causes cancer. Consumption of red meat is linked to colorectal cancer, as well as pancreatic and prostate cancers.

Global research on the link between eating meat and risk of cancer is leading to new initiatives around the world to help raise awareness and tackle the issue. The European Parliament recently called for a new resolution as part of a $4.4 billion Beating Cancer plan, that will promote plant-based diets and meat reduction to help fight the continent’s rising cancer cases.

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