Vegetarians have lower cancer risk than those who eat meat

While vegetarians appear to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer, scientists are unsure if this is due to their focus on fruits and vegetables, or avoidance of meat, especially red and processed ones. — Projetos Olearys/Flickr

The largest ever study of its kind found that vegetarians have a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer, compared with meat eaters.

They also have a 12% reduced risk of prostate cancer, 28% lower risk of kidney cancer and 31% lower risk of multiple myeloma.