Could Milk, Other Calcium-Rich Foods Help Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk?

For this study, researchers analyzed dietary data from more than 542,000 women who participated in the Million Women Study.

Scientists reviewed on average 16 years of medical data from each participant to search for links between 97 food products and nutrients to colorectal cancer risk.

Upon analysis, the researchers found a correlation between calcium intake and reduced colorectal cancer risk, especially with the following six dairy-related foods and nutrients and their association with calcium:

• dairy milk
• yogurt
• riboflavinTrusted Source
• magnesium
• phosphorus
• potassium.

Researchers discovered that consuming an additional 300 milligrams (mg) of calcium each day, the equivalent of around 1 glass of milk, was associated with a 17% lowered risk for colorectal cancer.

“This is the most comprehensive single study ever conducted into the relationship between diet and bowel cancer, and it highlights the potential role of calcium in the development of this disease,” Keren Papier, BSc, PhD, senior nutritional epidemiologist in the Cancer Epidemiology Unit in the Nuffield Department of Population Health at University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom, and lead author of this study, said in a press release.

“Further research is needed to understand the potential health impacts of increasing calcium in different populations,” she added.

The same study identified further evidence of a link between alcohol consumption and increased colorectal cancer risk.

Scientists reported that an additional 20 grams (g) of alcohol — about 1 large glass of wine — was correlated with a 15% heightened risk for colorectal cancer.

The study also strengthened existing evidence about the association between the consumption of red and processed meat and bowel cancer risk, finding that 30 g more of these consumed each day increased a person’s cancer risk by 8%.

“Every 12 minutes, someone in the U.K. is diagnosed with bowel cancer, making it the fourth most common cancer in the country,” Lisa Wilde, PhD, director of Research and External Affairs at Bowel Cancer UK, who was not involved in this study, noted in a press roundup.

“We already know that around half of all bowel cancers could be prevented by having a healthier lifestyle and this new research supports this, with a particular focus on dairy,” she added.

Wilde further advised that:

“Other changes you can make to help reduce your risk of developing bowel cancer include eating plenty of fiber from whole grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables, avoiding processed meat and limiting red meat, being a healthy body weight, taking part in regular physical activity, stopping smoking, and cutting down on alcohol. Making lifestyle changes can be a challenge, but we believe it’s worth the effort.”

Medical News Today spoke to Nilesh Vora, MD, a board-certified hematologist, medical oncologist, and medical director of the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, about this study.

“I think that we’ve long been associating the intake that humans have with the potential development of [gastrointestinal] cancer, such as colon cancer. So I think it’s interesting [and] I think it’s in line with what we think is a potential problem,” Vora, who was not involved in this research, commented.

“I think there’s a growing notion that the reason why there’s an increasing incidence of colon cancer, especially amongst younger people, is because diets have changed,” he continued. “And all of this is still hypothesized, but studies like this, which could generate more research and more powerful studies, may be able to educate us in telling patients what they should and shouldn’t be eating to lower their risk of colon cancer.”

MNT also spoke with Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, for tips on how to get more calcium in your diet, especially if your diet is dairy-free.

“It is correct that a cup of milk provides 300 mg of calcium,“ she told us, “but a variety of foods, high in quality, specifically leafy greens, such as collard greens, mustard greens, spinach, and lesser-known vegetables, such as cooked nettles, lambsquarters, amaranth leaves, and nopales provide close to 300 mg of calcium per cup in addition to fiber, potassium, vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin K, and magnesium to name a few additional beneficial nutrients.”

“For those who are lactose-intolerant or choose not to consume dairy for religious, preferential or personal reasons, additional food options to consider include exploring tofu, fortified orange juice or almond milk, soy milk, sardines, nuts, or tahini to your meals,” she advised.

“It is important to understand that the nutrients related to reducing colorectal risk, such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and riboflavin are not solely related to dairy,“ Richard further explained. “There are multiple studies who have observed populations around the world with minimal or nonexistent dairy intake but also a reduced cancer risk while having robust bone health.”

“Practice addition by subtraction — meaning, your cells will benefit from what it doesn’t have to fight against [such as] toxins, excess nutrients,” she said. “Add more of what will nurture them and boot out what won’t. For many individuals, reducing the risk for colorectal cancer starts with what we choose to put in our mouths.”