Calcium may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer in women, says a new study.
According to the findings of a British study published in Naturewomen should take 300 mg of the mineral per day to reduce the risk of cancer by 17%. And that is the approximate amount in a glass of milk.
“Dairy products (including evidence for total intake of dairy products, milk and cheese, as well as dietary calcium) and calcium supplements are likely to reduce the risk of colon cancer,” the University of Oxford and Cancer Research UK wrote in the study.
“This underlines the potential protective role of dairy products, mainly due to calcium, in the development of bowel cancer,” said research leader Dr. Keren Papier, BBC reports.
Image of a woman pouring a glass of milk.
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The researchers said they came to this conclusion after tracking the eating and health patterns of more than 542,000 women over 16 years.
They cautioned, however, that reducing cancer risk is not as simple as inhaling a pint of rocky road, as the researchers found that “all of the dairy-related foods and nutrients examined in this study were inversely associated with colon cancer risk intestines, except for cheese and ice cream.”
“The likely protective role of calcium,” the researchers added, may arise from the way it binds to bile acids and free fatty acids in the colon — “thus reducing their potentially carcinogenic effects.”
“We conclude that dairy products help protect against colon cancer,” the study said. “And that it is largely or entirely caused by calcium.”
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Picture of a woman drinking a glass of milk.
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The study also found an 8% higher risk of colon cancer with “higher consumption of red and processed meat” and noted “a greater association with processed meat than with red meat.”
The researchers also found that alcohol increased the risk by 15%.
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And while the study did focus on “dairy milk,” Dr. Lisa Wilde, from the charity Bowel Cancer UK, told the BBC that there are ways to increase your calcium intake even if you avoid animal products.
“If you don’t drink dairy milk, there are other ways you can get calcium,” she said. “For example, from broccoli or tofu, and still reduce the risk of colon cancer.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education