Whether organic fruit, less meat or more unprocessed foods: an environmentally friendly diet could significantly reduce the risk of cancer.
In Germany, around 500,000 people in Germany are becoming new to cancer. A healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk. Now a new study published in the specialist magazine “ECLINICALMEDICINE” shows: Even those who are particularly sustainable and therefore fed to climate -friendly reduces their risk of cancer. Some eating habits were crucial.
Researchers from the University of Regensburg systematically examined the connection between sustainable nutrition and cancer for the first time. To do this, they analyzed data from over 2.2 million people from 17 studies.
The result: people who eat particularly sustainably have a seven percent lower risk of developing cancer, and a twelve percent lower risk of dying from cancer – compared to people whose diet was least sustainable. Particularly clear protection was evident in lung and stomach cancer. In contrast, the connections were less clear in the case of breast or colon cancer.
Sustainable nutrition means in the analysis: many vegetable foods such as whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes, if possible from organic cultivation; Little processed food, as well as less meat and sugar. Because: vegetable products are nutrient -rich and mostly more resource -saving in production than animal products.
“The analysis provides a strong argument for sustainable nutrition as a double prevention strategy: it protects health and at the same time protects the natural livelihood, that is, the environment that our lives depend on,” says Marina Kasper, first author of the study.
The study has not examined which mechanisms have a sustainable diet. However, processed meat such as sausages have long been considered “carcinogenic”, red meat is considered “probably carcinogenic”, especially in terms of colon cancer. According to current knowledge, nitrate and nitrite in processed meat and the heme iron contained in red meat are probably responsible: these substances can cause damage in the intestinal mucosa and in the intestinal cells. And other processed foods can also contain chemicals that increase the risk of cancer. On the other hand, ready meals such as pizza, burgers or bag soups can also contribute to weight gain and obesity – and they are also a well -known risk factor for cancer.
The researchers speak for the fact that public health policy should in future rely more on sustainable nutrition – for example by education, better labeling and health -promoting framework conditions in schools, hospitals and canteens. In this way, the researchers can be brought into harmony with global climate protection.
