Drinking milk every day can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by up to 14%

Drinking a glass of milk every day can improve gut health and reduce the risk of cancer, according to a new study published by Science Alert.

Drinking milk every day can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer - Photo: The Well by Northwell - Northwell Health

An observational study of more than half a million women found that drinking 200 grams of milk a day could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 14%.

Milk helps reduce the risk of developing cancer

These findings add to other recent observational studies, which also suggest that dairy products, especially those rich in calcium, may play a protective role in the gut, especially in women – a group that typically consumes less calcium and is more susceptible to calcium deficiency.

The current study, led by scientists at the University of Oxford, was based on long-term health data from middle-aged and elderly European women – who also completed dietary questionnaires.

Of the 97 food choices considered in the study, dairy products such as yogurt and milk showed the strongest correlation with a reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Not all foods in the diet show such strong results when analyzed more closely, but milk and calcium are exceptions. In fact, consuming 300 milligrams of calcium per day can reduce cancer risk by 17%, 3% more than drinking milk.

Through data analysis, the researchers found that the link between milk and bowel cancer was largely due to calcium content, so it is possible that calcium-rich foods, even those that are not dairy, such as soy, may help protect gut health in the long term.

However, despite its large scale and rigor, this study can only offer hints about potential cancer causes and prevention measures.

Bowel cancer is on the rise in many parts of the world, and researchers suspect that unhealthy food choices are contributing to that increase. For example, alcohol and processed or red meat are known to increase the risk of bowel cancer. In the current study, all three of these factors were associated with an increased risk of cancer.

According to the authors of the analysis, drinking two standard drinks of alcohol per day had the strongest association with cancer risk, up to 15%. Meanwhile, consuming 30 grams of red and processed meat per day was associated with an 8% increased risk of cancer.

More definitive studies are needed

Randomised controlled trials have largely confirmed the association between meat, alcohol and bowel cancer, but the role of calcium remains unclear.

While observational studies consistently show this association, several randomised controlled trials of calcium supplementation have found no significant effect on reducing the risk of bowel cancer.

“Although this study highlights the potential benefits of increasing dietary calcium intake, these results should be interpreted with caution,” cautioned David Nunan, an expert in evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford. He was not involved in the study.

“The reported numbers may overstate the true effect due to methodological limitations. More robust studies, such as randomized controlled trials, are needed to establish a causal relationship,” he added.

Scientists now believe that up to half of bowel cancers could be prevented through healthy lifestyle and dietary changes.

The current analysis has limitations, but largely suggests that alcohol, red meat, and processed meat can be harmful to gut health if consumed too frequently. Meanwhile, dairy and non-dairy sources of calcium (except ice cream and cheese) may be beneficial for the gut.

Coffee was not considered in the current analysis, but previous studies have shown that people who drink a lot of coffee also have a lower risk of bowel cancer. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications .

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/uong-sua-hang-ngay-co-the-giam-nguy-co-ung-thu-ruot-len-den-14-20250112131708754.htm