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A growing number of people are choosing to eat less meat. There are many reasons people may choose to make this shift, but health is often cited as a popular motive.

A large body of research has shown that plant-based diets can have many health benefits – including lowering the risk of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Two large studies – EPIC-Oxford and the Adventist Health Study-2 – have also suggested vegetarian or pescatarian diets (where the only meat a person eats is fish or seafood) may be linked to a slightly lower overall cancer risk.

Limited research has shown whether these diets could lower risk of developing specific types of cancer. This is what our recent study aimed to uncover. We found that eating less meat lower a person’s risk of developing cancer – even the most common types of cancer.

Read the full article on The Conversation website, co-authored by Cody Watling, Dr Aurora Pérez-Cornago and Professor Tim Key in the Nuffield Department of Population Health.

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