Vegetarians May Have Lower Cancer Risk, But It Didn't Help Me!

WKRC TV , the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati, ran this nutritional “factoid” on their Website late last month:

A new report shows a popular turkey *alternative* might be something to add to your Thanksgiving day meal -- just for the health of it.

Tofurky is a a tofu product --which is turkey flavored. Why would you do this? Well a new report shows this product might help reduce your risk for certain types of cancer --at least in those who are vegetarian or who eat more meatless meals find this to be true. It is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

In this trial, over a lifetime -- about 29 percent of vegetarians would develop some type of cancer compared to those 33 percent of those who are not vegetarians. Vegetarians were 75 percent less likely to develop multiple myeloma --a cancer of the bone marrow, and 50 percent less at risk for cancer of the blood and lymphatic system such as leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Nobody's advocating you go totally meatless, but many of these foods in a vegetarian diet do have plant proteins which may be protective of some types of cancer,.when it comes to your meal --might must want to go easy on the turkey --and pile on the sweet potatoes and vegetables.

Interesting! I was a vegetarian for ten years before being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Guess I wasn't one of the lucky ones! Ironically, my naturopathic M.D. suggests I eat red meat every other day or so to help keep my bone marrow strong to withstand my monthly maintenance chemotherapy. I would be following advice from article above if I didn't agree with M.D.'s assessment, and if I wasn't trying to follow a strict, low carb diet. There is a chapter about this in my first book, Living with Multiple Myeloma.

Feel good, keep smiling and eat lots and lots of veggies! Pat