Drinking milk can lower the risk of developing bowel cancer, US researchers have said.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital scientists found drinking 16 ounces of milk a day (around four-fifths of a UK pint) was linked to a 12% decrease in risk.
They analysed results from 10 studies, which looked at half a million people, 5,000 of whom developed bowel cancer.
Their findings are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the third most common form of the disease worldwide.
It has been suggested that different diets may explain why rates of the cancer vary between countries.
Previous animal research had suggested that calcium, chiefly obtained from milk and dairy products, might protect against the disease.
Milk
The US researchers looked at people’s consumption of dairy products from which they could gain calcium.
However, only milk was linked with a decreased cancer risk, particularly cancers of the distal colon and rectum.
It was found drinking two eight ounce glasses of milk per day (0.8 of a UK pint) was associated with a 12% decrease in risk.
The study also found that higher total calcium intake was associated with a decreased risk of bowel cancer.
Increasing calcium intake to 1,000milligrams a day or more could result in 15% fewer cases of bowel cancer in women and 10% fewer cases in men.
Writing in the journal, the researchers led by Dr Eunyoung Cho, said the data supported “the concept that moderate milk and calcium intake reduces the risk of colorectal cancer”.
The study did not find a significant reduction of risk associated with other dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt.
Some experts believe that dairy products can increase the risk of other cancers, notably breast and prostate.
Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK, described the findings as “interesting”.
However, he added: “Epidemiological studies often yield interesting associations that later turn out not to be real.
“People shouldn?t conclude on the basis of this study that drinking milk on a daily basis is going to prevent them getting colorectal cancer.
“No convincing mechanism by which milk could prevent cancer has been shown.”
Dr Sullivan said the best way to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer was to eat balanced diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables and foods that are high in fibre, and reduce intake of fat and of red and processed meat.
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Want to lower your blood pressure? Add more soy or low-fat dairy to your diet.
Partly replacing refined carbohydrates with foods or drinks high in soy or milk protein may help prevent and treat high blood pressure, according to a new study.
Study participants who took a milk protein supplement had 2.3 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) lower systolic blood pressure, compared to when they took a refined carbohydrate supplement.
Participants who took a soy protein supplement had a 2.0 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure when compared to the refined carbohydrate supplement.
The 352 adults in the study were at increased risk of high blood pressure or had mild cases of the condition.
“The systolic blood pressure differences we found are small for the individual, but they are important at the population level,” said Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher of the study.
The study has been published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found that drinking more than half a litre of milk a day – just under a pint – reduces your chances of suffering heart attacks and strokes by up to a fifth.
It also reduces your chances of developing diabetes and colon cancer, the research found.
The findings appear to reverse the commonly held view that drinking too much milk is bad for you and suggest the removal of free milk in schools could have been a mistake.
Scientists at the University of Reading and University of Cardiff analysed more than 324 studies from across the world, which covered health and milk consumption in thousands of people.
They found that those who drank around a pint of milk a day had greatly reduced chance (around 15 to 20 per cent) of contracting cardiovascular disease.
Professor Ian Givens, a nutritionist at the University of Reading and co-author of the study, said it is believed that proteins in the milk help reduce blood pressure which in turn reduces stress on the heart and blood vessels.
“I think that this shows that the bad press milk has been getting is undeserved,” he said. “Other studies had shown that milk had beneficial to health but the extent was a surprise to us.”
The study also discovered the incidence of diabetes was also reduced by between four and nine per cent and colon cancer rates were also lowered.
Other cancers such as prostate and bladder however showed slight increases.
The findings published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition do not distinguish between low and high fat milk though they do seem to suggest that the health benefits of drinking milk outweigh any dangers that lie in its consumption.
It has had bad press in recent years because it is associated with a rise in blood cholesterol.
Professor Givens added: “While growth and bone health are of great importance to health and function, it is the effects of milk and dairy consumption on chronic disease that are of the greatest relevance to reduced morbidity and survival.
“Our findings clearly show that when the numbers of deaths from coronary heart disease, stroke and colorectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from these chronic diseases due to milk consumption.
“We certainly found no evidence that drinking milk might increase the risk of developing any condition, with the exception of prostate cancer. Put together, there is convincing overall evidence that milk consumption is associated with an increase in survival in Western communities.”
The researchers believe the findings are of particular relevance because milk consumption is falling fast.
Within the UK the fall has been around one third during the past 25 years. Milk is the main source of calcium and within the UK it has been estimated that 20 per cent of adolescent girls and 10 per cent of boys have less than the recommended intakes of calcium.
Free milk was withdrawn from schools in the 1970s.