Eating Dairy can Reduce Bowel Cancer Risk by 19 Percent

Dietary folate, magnesium, and dairy products may all help stave off bowel cancer. However, a new study reports there's no evidence that fish, garlic or onions, tea, or coffee protect against the disease. The findings of the study are published in the journal Gut. In the US alone, nearly 1 in every 20 people is likely to develop bowel cancer at some point during their lifetime. And worldwide, over 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths from the disease are predicted every year by 2030.

While deaths from the disease have been decreasing in most developed countries, the number of new cases has been increasing in some, including in Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands.

While screening for bowel cancer can pick up the disease at an early stage, it takes over 15 years for bowel cancer to develop, which led them to the conclusion that a healthy lifestyle likely has an important role in helping to halt or stop its progress altogether. So the research team analyzed a variety of reviews and meta-analysis of clinical trials and observational studies evaluating the impact of dietary and medicinal factors on bowel cancer risk.

The medicinal factors included aspirin, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like statins and paracetamol. The dietary factors included vitamins or supplements (calcium, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins A, B, C, D, E), tea, coffee, fish and omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, meat, and alcohol.

The results revealed that aspirin is likely protective against bowel cancer, reducing the risk by between 14 percent and 29 percent at doses as low as 75 mg/day. NSAID use for up to five years was linked to a significant (26 to 43 percent) fall in bowel cancer incidence.

Magnesium intake of at least 255 mg per day was linked to a 23 percent lower risk than the lowest intake, while a high intake of folic acid was tied to a 12 to 15 percent lower risk. Similarly, eating dairy products was linked to a 13 to 19 percent lower risk of the disease. Fibre was tied to a 22 to 43 percent lower risk, while fruit and vegetable intake was associated with up to a 52 percent lower risk, and dietary soy was tied to 8 to 15 percent lower risk.

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On the other hand, meat, especially red and processed meat, increased the chances of developing the disease by 12 to 21 percent. Alcohol was also linked to a significantly increased risk. While there wasn't enough evidence to suggest vitamins A, B, C, D, E or multivitamins, tea, garlic, onions, coffee, and fish protect against the disease.

Source-Medindia