Drink a glass of milk every day to reduce cancer risk, suggests study
Who knew that something as simple as a glass of milk could hold the secret to better health? A large UK study, funded by Cancer Research UK, has found that drinking a glass of milk every day does so much more than just build strong bones – it could cut your risk of bowel cancer by nearly a fifth.
Let’s dive into the details.
The research
The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Oxford and published in Nature Communications, is the largest of its kind to date – analysing the dietary habits and bowel cancer risk among more than 500,000 women over 16 years.
The researchers looked at the impact of 97 different dietary products and nutrients, focusing on calcium-rich foods, dark leafy greens, fortified non-dairy milks and processed meats.
The results
The study found that consuming an additional 300mg of calcium every day – the amount found in a large glass of milk – was associated with a 17% reduction in the risk of bowel cancer.
‘This is the most comprehensive single study ever conducted into the relationship between diet and bowel cancer, and it highlights the potential protective role of calcium in the development of this disease,’ said Dr Keren Papier, lead researcher of the study.
The researchers also found that calcium from non-dairy sources – including fortified soy milk and dark leafy greens – was equally effective in helping to reduce the risk of bowel cancer.
‘We have some idea on why calcium has this effect,’ said Dr Papier. ‘It’s suggested that calcium might protect against bowel cancer by binding to bile acids and free fatty acids to form a type of a harmless "soap", which stops them from damaging the lining of our gut.’
While the link between alcohol and bowel cancer and eating too much red or processed meat and bowel cancer has already been made in previous studies, this new study showed that:
Drinking an additional large glass of wine a day increases your risk of bowel cancer by 15%.
Eating more red and processed meat a day, such as a slice of ham, increases your risk by 8%.
What this means for us
There are about 44,000 cases of bowel cancer every year in the UK, making it the fourth most common cancer.
This study reinforces the idea that a balanced, healthy diet can help to prevent bowel cancer. It highlights that calcium-rich foods in particular – both dairy and non-dairy products – could play a significant, protective role in reducing risk.
Importantly, this study addresses gaps in previous research by examining a wide range of dietary factors – and using a large dataset.
The bottom line
While no single food is a magic cure-all pill, guaranteed to prevent one of the UK’s most common cancers, drinking a glass of milk (or a calcium-fortified alternative) every day is an easy, proactive step we can all make to reduce the risk of bowel cancer.
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