Vegan diets are linked to a lower overall cancer rate, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The diets of 69,120 participants from the Adventist Health Study-2 were tracked for more than four years. Dietary patterns were divided into five categories: nonvegetarian, semivegetarians, lacto-vegetarians (consumes dairy products and eggs), pesco-vegetarians (consumes dairy, eggs, and fish), and vegans. Vegans had a 16 percent decreased risk of all cancers, and vegan women had a 34 percent decreased risk for other specific cancers including breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers, compared with nonvegetarians.

Tantamango-Bartley Y, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fan J, Fraser G. Vegetarian diets and the incidence of cancer in a low-risk population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. Published ahead of print Nov. 20, 2012.

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