Drinking Milk May Help Prevent Breast Cancer

Dairy Foods, Oct, 2001

MONTREAL-A study published in the September issue of the International Journal of Cancer has shown that childhood and adult milk consumption can protect against breast cancer.

Women drinking more than 3 glasses of milk per day had half the risk of breast cancer compared to women not drinking milk. The study of 48,844 women in Norway has shown that milk consumption during childhood can reduce the risk of breast cancer among women aged 34 to 39. After adjusting for age, reproductive and hormonal factors, body mass index, education, physical activity and alcohol consumption, milk consumption was shown to be a key factor in reducing the incidence of breast cancer.

The results of this study are in line with earlier research results showing the protective effect of milk on breast cancer. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer in 1996 showed that the women who consumed the most milk had less than half the risk of breast cancer compared to women consuming the least milk.

Milk's protective effect can be attributed to the cancer-fighting substance conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in milk fat. Numerous studies indicated that CLA had a protective effect against breast cancer. A recent Finnish study has shown that postmenopausal women with the lowest levels of CLA in their diet and in their blood had, respectively, a 3.3-fold and five-fold greater risk of breast cancer than those with the highest levels of CLA.