Eating meat may provide protection against cancer, according to a new study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
The study did not find that eating meat was linked to an increase in the risk of dying from cancer or heart disease—instead, the data indicated that eating more meat had a “modest but significant” link to reduced cancer death. There was no similar finding for those who ate plant protein.
Stuart Phillips, a professor in McMaster University’s Department of Kinesiology and supervisor of the research, told The Epoch Times that his team undertook the study to analyze a 2014 paper that claimed protein increased cancer mortality risk.
“We just didn’t believe that the protein was as damning as the previous authors had said,” Phillips said during a phone interview.
“I was a little surprised at the animal protein being protective,” he said. “It’s not a big effect, but it’s notable” and “statistically significant,” Phillips added.
“I think the only thing that I would say I was surprised at is that the hypothesis going into our analysis was the plant protein would be negatively associated with mortality. That is, it would be longevity promoting, but it wasn’t.”
“There’s a lot of confusion around protein – how much to eat, what kind and what it means for long-term health. This study adds clarity, which is important for anyone trying to make informed, evidence-based decisions about what they eat,” he said.
Researchers found no associations between the amount or type of protein and the risk of death, according to the article.
Phillips confirmed that funding for the study was provided by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, adding that different industries have funded studies before and that without the money, there would be no research.
“If there’s no research, there’s just a vacuum and then nothing to push back against what we consider to be flawed analysis,” he said in the interview. “I'll take my lump sum of funding, and I know it doesn’t look great, but anybody can do the analysis. The data is publicly available.”
Researchers said in the study that previous studies that had reported information contradictory to the McMaster study’s findings had “uneven numbers of participants in their respective groups and small numbers of cases of all-cause and disease-specific mortality artificially inflating risks when comparing arbitrarily defined protein intake groups.”
When asked if he would be changing his eating habits, Phillips said he was a “dyed-in-the-wool omnivore.”
“I like animal protein. I like plant protein. I eat plenty of protein because I’m an advocate for a little bit higher protein than most people would say that they need,” he said.
