Plant-Based Diets Protective Against Digestive System Cancers

A large review of 49 prospective cohort and case-control studies, with a total of over 3 million participants, has shown that plant-based diets play a protective role in the risk of developing digestive system cancers, including pancreatic, colorectal, gastric and liver cancers.

The review, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, found that overall risk of digestive system cancers was 18% lower in the cohort studies and 30% lower in the case-control studies among those consuming a plant-based diet. The authors stated that “the implication of this study is a call for action to pay special attention to plant-based diets to reduce the risk of digestive system cancers”.

The authors also suggest the biological mechanisms that explain these impressive findings, including the “high intake of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals promoted by a well-planned plant-based diet, which regulate antioxidant and anti-inflammatory processes” which are associated with cancer protection. On top of this, and more specific to digestive system cancers, is the evidence suggesting that dietary fiber, which comes exclusively from plant-foods, “increases anaerobic fermentation and reduces intestinal transit time, which may reduce the exposure of colorectal mucosa to carcinogens”.

These findings should come as no surprise, since the Global Burden of Disease Study, one of the largest studies of risk factors for disease in history, calculated that roughly 1 in every 5 deaths worldwide could be potentially saved if human beings simply ate more whole plant foods.

References:

Zhao, Y., Zhan, J., Wang, Y., & Wang, D. (2022). The Relationship Between Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Digestive System Cancers: A Meta-Analysis Based on 3,059,009 Subjects. Frontiers in public health, 10, 892153.

Lim SS, Vos T, Flaxman AD, et al (2012). A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 Lancet. 2012; 380(9859): 2224-2260.