Eating a diet free from red meat may significantly reduce the risk of a specific type of colon cancer in women. University of Leeds researchers compared rates of distal bowel cancer (the section of the bowel where faeces are stored) in more than 32,000 women recruited in the mid-1990s and tracked for an average of 17 years. They looked for differences in bowel cancer rates in those on a vegetarian diet, and those who ate poultry, fish and red meat. Although there was no evidence of a reduction of colon and rectum cancer risk overall in those who didn’t eat red meat, there was a protective association for distal bowel cancer. A larger trial is now needed.