Vegetarianism And Cancer: The Evidence
Vegetarianism has the reputation of being a healthy diet because it is low in fat and high in
vegetable products and fibre. An increasing number of scientific studies are showing that a
vegetarian diet can help to prevent cancer and can assist the body to recover from cancer when
combined with chemo-therapy or radiation therapy.
A vegetarian diet is not an alternative to conventional forms of treatment. It would be unwise to
reject medical treatments that have been shown to work. Only the irresponsible would
recommend a cancer patient to reject conventional medical treatment.
What a vegetarian diet can do for a patient who is undergoing cancer treatment is to help their
body cope with the side effects. A diet high in natural fruit and vegetable juices will provide the
body with important nutrients that help the natural healing process.
Patients who adopt a vegetarian diet often report an improvement in their general outlook and
their attitude to the disease. In part this may be because they are eating a nutrient rich diet.
But the psychological effect of switching to a vegetarian diet can be as important as the
nutritional value. Cancer patients suffer from a feeling of loss of control because their whole life
becomes dominated by a complex regime of treatment that is in the hands of specialists. When
they change to a vegetarian diet they regain their sense of control over their own lives.
The effect of psychology on disease should never be underestimated. It is well documented in
the medical literature as the placebo effect. Feeling better should not be dismissed in cancer
treatment. Vegetarianism will do not harm and it may do some good.
But it is in cancer prevention that the benefits of vegetarianism are most thoroughly
documented. A diet which contains many soya based products has been shown to be
associated with a low risk of cancer. Breast cancer in particular is very rare among women who
eat a soy based diet. Vegetarianism is the soy based diet par excellence.
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