Low protein diet may help protect from cancer?

New research from the USA suggests that a low protein diet may help protect against cancer.

Researchers compared three groups: vegetarians on a low calorie, low protein diet (9% energy from protein); endurance runners with a standard protein diet (15% energy from protein); and non-obese sedentary people with a standard protein diet (17% energy from protein).

Compared to the sedentary group, the endurance runners had lower blood levels of a number of hormones and inflammatory proteins linked with an increased risk of cancer.

The low protein diet of the vegetarians appeared to offer even greater protection with lower levels of IGF-1, a protein associated with risk of some cancers.

This was a small study with just 21 people in each group and further research will be needed to validate these findings.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2006