Plant-Based Diet Linked to Lower Liver Cancer Risk in 170,000 Adults

Eating more plant foods is linked to a lower risk of liver cancer, with each 10-point rise in plant-based diet score tied to an 18% lower risk, a study of 170,000 adults has found.

Researchers led by Kyung Hee University in South Korea used the Multiethnic Cohort Study, which tracked 170,321 African American, Japanese American, Latino, Native Hawaiian and White adults for an average of 19.6 years. There were 722 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. Each 10-point increase in the overall plant-based diet index was linked to 18% lower risk, and 16% for the healthful index, with no differences between men and women or ethnic groups. The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

It is observational, so it shows a link rather than cause. The authors conclude in the paper:

Greater adherence to plant-based diets rich in healthy plant foods and low in less healthy plant foods is associated with a reduced risk of HCC in a multiethnic population.

Beans, whole grains, vegetables and nuts are kind to your liver.

The same research team linked a healthy plant-based diet to 20% lower bowel cancer risk in men last year, and a February study tied one to 44% lower pancreatic cancer risk.

Another tick in the plant-based column!