Vegan diets cut cancer risk 23%, UK MPs target blind animal tests
A meta-analysis of prospective studies found vegans have 23% lower total cancer risk than non-vegetarians, among the strongest evidence yet for the diet's cancer case.
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A meta-analysis of prospective studies found vegans have 23% lower total cancer risk than non-vegetarians, among the strongest evidence yet for the diet's cancer case [8].
02
Two new meta-analyses agree a whole-food plant-based diet lowers dementia risk while a junk, ultra-processed version of it raises it [16].
03
27 UK MPs spanning six parties backed a motion to end "blind approval" animal-testing licenses that let labs run experiments with no public scrutiny [69].
04
A six-day crossover trial found swapping red meat for plant-based meat lowered a key cardiovascular marker and LDL cholesterol, though it nudged body weight up slightly [10].
05
Vegan and vegetarian children have lower iron, B12, and calcium than omnivore peers but healthier cholesterol, a meta-analysis of 48,626 kids found [19].
06
A pulse-based diet beat an equivalent meat-protein diet on ferritin gains and visceral fat loss in adults over 60 [3].
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The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words
01▲Research & NutritionStory
Meta-analysis finds vegan diets cut total cancer risk by 23 percent
Wikimedia Commons / Broccoli
By the numbers
23%lower total cancer risk for vegans versus non-vegetarians, across three prospective studies (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.70-0.85) [8]
13%lower total cancer risk for vegetarians versus non-vegetarians, across four cohort studies (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.84-0.91) [8]
17-23%lower liver cancer risk per 10-unit rise in the plant-based diet index, the larger figure for the healthful version [6]
3%higher breast cancer risk per 10-unit rise in the unhealthful plant-based index, heavy on refined carbs and sugar [6]
Solid"Vegetarian diets compared to non-vegetarian diets are associated with reduced risk of total cancer and seven specific cancer types, while vegan diets are associated with reduced risk of total and breast cancer." (study authors) [8]. Two systematic reviews of prospective cohort and case-control studies, sound design, but observational, so this shows association, not proof of cause.
From(plant-based diet[tiab] OR vegan diet[tiab] OR vegans[tiab]) AND
02▬Research & NutritionStory
Diet quality splits plant-based eaters' dementia risk in two new meta-analyses
Wikimedia Commons / Walnut
By the numbers
26%lower risk of cognitive impairment or dementia with greater plant-based diet adherence, pooled across seven studies and 221,380 people (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.97) [13]
21%lower dementia risk in the top tier of healthful plant-based eating, versus 24% higher risk in the top tier of the unhealthful version [16]
Solid"The healthful plant-based diet was associated with lower risk of dementia, whereas the unhealthful plant-based diet was linked to higher risk." (study authors) [16]. Two cohort-based meta-analyses agree in direction, but heterogeneity between studies is high, and both call for randomized trials to prove cause.
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03▲Activism & AnimalsStory
UK MPs back motion to end blind approval of animal testing
Photo: plant based news
“Behind every licence is a living creature subjected to fear, distress, and suffering that the public is never allowed to see.”
Neil Duncan-Jordan, Labour MP for Poole, motion sponsor · [69]
“The government must halt these unreliable toxicity tests now and immediately shift funding to superior, human-relevant alternatives like AI and advanced cell models.”
27MPs have backed the motion so far, including six sponsors and 21 signatories [69]
100,000+animals authorized for use over the next five years under six generic service licenses granted in the first three months of 2026 alone [69]
4%overall drop in UK animal testing from 2024 to 2025, alongside a rise in the use of dogs, cats, monkeys, and horses [69]
FromPlant Based News
04▬Research & NutritionStory
Trial finds plant-based meat cuts a heart-risk marker versus red meat
UBC News (via Openverse)
By the numbers
41participants completed the crossover trial comparing a plant-based meat diet with a red-meat diet, six days per arm [10]
TMAO down 0.61 log units(95% CI -0.90 to -0.33) on the plant-based meat diet versus the red-meat diet [10]
LDL cholesterol down 6.0 mg/dL(95% CI -10.0 to -1.9) on the plant-based meat diet [10]
Body weight up 0.6 kg(95% CI +0.1 to +1.0) on the plant-based meat diet, despite matched calories [10]
Early"a plant-based meat supplemented diet led to significantly lower TMAO levels, suggesting that replacing red-meat with a plant-based diet may lead to a more favourable metabolic risk profile." (study authors) [10]. A crossover trial of 41 people, six days per arm, real biomarkers but too small and short to call the metabolic picture settled, and weight and a heart-stress marker (NTproBNP) both ticked up on the plant-based arm.
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Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Cook: roast cherry tomatoes and whole garlic cloves with hummus for a five-ingredient, creamy pasta sauce, no dairy required [65].
Research & Nutrition
A low-fat vegan diet supplemented with soy cut severe hot flashes and body weight in postmenopausal women, driven by displacing animal foods rather than cutting processed plant foods [1].
Heart patients in Brazil's four-year BALANCE trial saw better cholesterol, blood sugar, and waist measurements the more their diet quality index shifted toward plants [2].
Plant-based diets were tied to 18% lower odds of hypertension across 456,783 adults in a new meta-analysis, though links to diabetes and obesity stayed inconclusive [7].
A meta-analysis of seven randomized trials found plant-based diets lower C-reactive protein, a key inflammation marker, though the researchers rated the evidence's certainty low [9].
Renaming a plant-based dish so it doesn't share a name with its meat counterpart, a "Falafel Burger" next to a "Chicken Pie" instead of a "Beef Burger", pushed meat-eaters toward the plant-based option in a UK choice study [11].
Recreational runners and lifters at Stanford, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and the University of Reading showed no significant performance loss on a four-week plant-based diet versus their usual diet [14].
An eight-week vegan diet lowered white blood cell and lymphocyte counts compared with a meat-rich diet in a German trial, a possible anti-inflammatory signal researchers don't yet fully explain [17].
A daily multinutrient supplement with 82 micrograms of B12 measurably improved B12 blood markers in healthy vegans over four months in a placebo-controlled German trial [18].
Plant-based diets cut systolic blood pressure by nearly 7 mmHg in chronic kidney disease patients, across a meta-analysis of six randomized trials [20].
A Brazilian cohort of nearly 13,000 adults linked heavy use of common sugar substitutes, including aspartame and sorbitol, to cognitive decline roughly 1.6 years faster than light users [23].
A Malaysian hospital trial is testing whether a plant-focused diet helps malnourished dialysis patients, though only 9 of a planned 100 patients have enrolled so far [4].
One Good Thing
Michael Johnston, star of this summer's breakout hit Obsession, brought his own homemade almond and cashew milk to an Access Hollywood interview because he can't do dairy, and the hosts liked it enough to say so on camera. He made the vanilla extract himself too. It's a small thing, an actor skipping the oat-milk latte line and doing it from scratch at home, but it's also proof that going dairy-free reads as ordinary now, not as a bit [71].
You’ll have a tough time deciding if these golden, fluffy, cheesecake-studded pancakes are breakfast or dessert, but will have no trouble deciding that they are 100-percent…
2 servings24 ingredients
See the ingredients
For the strawberry topping:
1 (1-pound) bag fresh or frozen strawberries, roughly chopped
