The Animal Link

A study of epic proportions analysed high-quality data from 87 countries to examine the relationship between lifestyle and cancer. The results showed that the main factor notably contributing to 12 types of cancer across the countries was animal products consumption (which included meat, milk, fish and eggs). The types of cancer that animal products were most strongly linked to were breast, uterus, kidney, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancer and multiple myeloma. The study also documented how the rise of animal products consumption in some countries was followed by increased cancer rates. Examples of this include colon cancer rising after 15-27 years and breast cancer after 20-31 years in Japan and mortality rates for some cancers in several Southeast Asian countries increased 10 years after meat and dairy consumption rose. The author explained that animal products consumption causes increased production of insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 and sex hormones in the body which is probably why it’s so strongly linked to cancer. Higher levels of these hormones are known to increase the cancer risk for several organ systems. He also pointed out that iron in meat may be a risk factor for cancer through increased production of free radicals and DNA damage. Higher protein intake has been shown to stimulate cancer promoting reactions in the body and it was suggested that the only diet that could avoid these is a wholesome vegan diet excluding protein isolates (such as TVP or isolated soya protein).

_{Grant, W.B., 2013. A Multicountry Ecological Study of Cancer Incidence Rates in 2008 with Respect to Various Risk-Modifying Factors. Nutrients. 6 (1) 163-189.}