Glass of milk a day can cut risk of deadly cancer by a fifth, new study finds
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Having the equivalent of a glass of wine every day increases the risk of bowel cancer by 15%. A glass of milk a day cuts the risk of bowel cancer by almost a fifth, according to the largest study of its kind. Researchers say they have found the strongest evidence yet that calcium protects against the deadly disease.
![[The study shows that drinking dairy milk can help reduce your bowel cancer risk.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/08/09/01JH2BJ3WX69JRH4KVMPBRRSY0.jpg)
The team also discovered that having the equivalent of a glass of wine every day increases the risk of bowel cancer by 15%. It also backed up previous findings that processed and red meat raises the risk of bowel cancer, with 30g more per day linked to an 8% increase in risk.
Experts responded to the study by saying people should have a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, and stop smoking to lower their risk of bowel cancer, which affects more than 44,000 people each year in the UK. Data shows that one in 20 women and one in 17 men in the UK will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetime.
More than half of cases are preventable, with 13% caused by eating processed meat and 11% caused by overweight and obesity. The latest research, published in the journal Nature Communications, looked at 97 dietary factors and their impact on bowel cancer risk among 542,778 women taking part in the Million Women Study.
Over a follow-up of almost 17 years, some 12,251 women developed bowel cancer, with calcium and alcohol having the strongest effect on changing bowel cancer risk from all the dietary factors studied. The researchers found that, on average, an extra 300mg of calcium per day – equivalent to a large 240ml glass of milk or a couple of pots of yoghurt – led to a 17% decrease in the risk of bowel cancer.
