A new study from Oxford University suggests that vegetarians have a 14% lower risk of developing cancer compared to regular meat-eaters.

Drawing on data from over 470,000 participants, the research also indicates that pescatarians—those who eat fish but no other meat—had a 10% lower cancer risk when compared to people who consume meat regularly.

The study defined regular meat-eaters as individuals who ate meat more than five times per week. The findings revealed that reducing meat consumption, or adopting a vegetarian or pescatarian diet, was linked to a lower risk of cancer across all cancer types. However, the researchers caution that the study does not definitively prove that meat consumption increases cancer risk. Factors such as smoking and body fat may also contribute to the observed differences in cancer risk.

The Oxford study underscores the complex relationship between diet and health outcomes, suggesting that other lifestyle factors should be considered when evaluating cancer risk. Despite the findings, the authors emphasize that further research is needed to explore the connections between diet, lifestyle, and cancer.