Loma Linda University study finds correlation between vegan diets and lowered risk of prostate cancer

A recent study out of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that vegan diets may present a lower risk of prostate cancer. This lower estimated risk was seen in both white and possibly black vegan subjects.

This study aimed to examine the association between dietary patterns (nonvegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, vegan, and semi-vegetarian) and prostate cancer incidence among 26,346 male participants of the Adventist Health Study-2.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer accounts for 27% of all incident cancer cases among men and is the second most common (noncutaneous) cancer among men. The relation between diet and prostate cancer is still unclear. Because people do not consume individual foods but rather foods in combination, the assessment of dietary patterns may offer valuable information when determining associations between diet and prostate cancer risk.

According to the study director, Dr. Gary Fraser, “These analyses provided evidence that subjects adhering to a vegan diet experienced about 1/3 lower incidence of prostate cancer than those preferring a nonvegetarian diet. Vegan diets differ from other vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets by the absence of dairy and eggs, as well as greater intake of most fruit, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.”

The study population consisted of male participants in the AHS-2. These subjects were aged ≥30y at enrollment and members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who lived in the United States or Canada. Enrollment commenced in February 2002, and at completion (December 2007), more than 96,000 participants had completed the lengthy lifestyle questionnaire.

The full article, entitled “Are strict vegetarians protected against prostate cancer?” can be found in the 2016 vol. 103 no. 1 153-160 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, available at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org.

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About Loma Linda University Health

Loma Linda University Health includes Loma Linda University’s eight professional schools, Loma Linda University Medical Center’s six hospitals and more than 900 faculty physicians located in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Established in 1905, Loma Linda University Health is a global leader in education, research and clinical care. It offers over 100 academic programs and provides quality health care to 40,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year. A Seventh-day Adventist organization, Loma Linda University Health is a faith-based health system with a mission “to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”