A glass of milk every day can lower cancer risk by 17%: Study

A recent study has revealed that a big glass of milk every day can help lower bowel cancer risk by 17%. The study published in Nature Communications conducted by University of Oxford researchers has said that an extra daily 300mg of calcium, which is around the same found in half a pint of milk, was linked with a 17% lower risk of bowel cancer.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers and can be found anywhere in the large bowel including the colon and rectum. Symptoms of bowel cancer include changes in your stool, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual, needing to use the toilet more or less often than usual, blood in the poo which may look red or black, bleeding from bottom, feeling the urge to poo frequently, tummy pain, a lump in the tummy, bloating, losing weight without trying, and feeling very tired for no reason.

The study said that even having a non-dairy source of calcium like fortified soy milk could have a colorectal cancer-protective effect.

The research studied 97 dietary factors and their effects on bowel cancer risk in over half a million women. The study involved 12,251 participants. The protective benefits can also be enjoyed by consuming 300 mg of other calcium-rich foods like leafy greens, yogurt and non-dairy milks, which suggests that calcium can ward off prostate cancer risk.

The researchers have pointed that, on the other hand, consuming the same amount of alcohol every day could have the opposite effect. Researchers found that drinking the equivalent of one large glass of wine per day could raise the prostate cancer risk by 15%. Processed and red meats were also linked with higher bowel cancer risk.