Veganism and Health Science Research in the UK

Sorry for the long title but today I attended a conference on the latest developments in breast cancer, and now I’m going to rant about it.

From this morning’s seminars at least, it seems that you guys in the US are ahead of the game when it comes to the link between cancer and diet.  Today, a professor in endocrinology gave a short presentation comparing the incidence of cancer in the West with that of countries in Asia (predominantly China, Japan and Malaysia) and the genetic basis of breast cancer.  From his statistical observations and research into endocrinology and breast cancer he concluded that dairy products are, in fact, a major contributory cause for breast cancer (and other hormone related cancers).  Other contributory factors are a diet high in animal protein and obesity.  He also went on to add that this knowledge isn’t in the public domain because of the conflicts between science, politics, and the threat it could cause to the economic stability of the country.  I know what some of you are thinking; “so, what’s new”.  What’s new is that, being a typical Brit (no offense fellow Brits), he trod the middle ground in fear of causing offense.  That is, he did not state what  a diet should consist of if one is to try to prevent cancer.  Instead he highlighted the statistics and literally dropped into his talk at the end, that dairy is evil.  Obviously he used much more reserved language.

So, in the coffee break (where, incidentally, people were suddenly eschewing the milk) I cornered him and asked whether he would go so far as to say that a plant-based diet is, in fact, the ideal for the prevention of cancer (I also asked if he had heard of Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s China Study- he hadn’t).  His reply, NO!  The reasons for this: his approach to diet and his scientific findings is evolutionary based.  Therefore, humans are omnivores so we should consume meat (but in moderation), and we should cut out dairy purely because as we age the body loses the ability to digest it thus in biological terms we should not eat it.  So, whilst his findings and studies were incredibly similar to that of Campbell et al’s, his conclusions were rather different.  It seems that he agreed with Campbell that obesity and cancer are related thus it is important to maintain a low body weight and that we should have a dairy free diet.  For some reason, which he did not give other than humans are omnivores, he believed that we should consume animal protein but in LIMITED amounts (i’m not sure if, for him, it’s because of the density of energy and calories found in protein that we’re not expending since our society is so inactive).  But surely, the logical conclusion would be that the vegan/plant-based diet is the ideal?  Yes?  No.  Not according to this UK professor.  There we have it; that is my frustration with moderation (which, for the record I’m not always averse too).  Why are some so afraid or unable to take things to their logical conclusions?  Surely the information, particularly regarding dairy if nothing else, should be put into the public domain so people can choose if they want to engage with the research?  And, shouldn’t health professionals have this information also so that we can educate our patients who  are living with cancer or are genetically predetermined to get it at some point?

That’s rant number 1 over with.  Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the other rant.  May be some other time.  But, if you’re curious, the other rant is a feminist one- it seems that breast cancer in Malaysia is most certainly a feminist issue.

On a much happier note, I will leave you with this photo of the beautiful, organic fruit and veg that we’ve been enjoying this week; delivered directly to our door from a local farm.  Thank you Riverford!

P.S. We’ve still got a punnet of gooseberries left.  Anyone know what I could do with them?