Eating and drinking milk and dairy can reduce the risk of bowel cancer. But there is no proof it increases or decreases the risk of any other cancer type.
This page is about dairy products and cancer risk for the general public. If you’ve had a cancer diagnosis, speak to your doctor if you have questions or concerns about your diet.
How do milk and dairy products decrease bowel cancer risk?
There is good evidence that dairy products decrease the risk of bowel cancer. This includes milk and cheese.
Dairy products contain proteins and vitamins that are important for your health. This includes calcium which is important for strong bones. And high calcium content could be one way dairy products decrease bowel cancer risk.
Dairy alternatives (particularly soya products), can also contain these important proteins and vitamins. Try to choose products with added with added calcium and B12.
Dairy-alternatives have important health benefits. But we need more research to know for sure if they can also reduce risk of bowel cancer.
Low fat, low sugar dairy or dairy-alternatives make up a part of a healthy, balanced diet.
What about other cancer types?
There is no strong evidence linking dairy products to any other types of cancer.
Prostate cancer risk and dairy
Research has not proven whether dairy or calcium has a direct effect on prostate cancer risk. There are some studies that have found an increased risk in people who have large amounts of dairy. But there’s not enough good evidence for this.
It’s hard to measure how much dairy people eat over a long period of time. And there could be other factors that are different in people who eat and drink a lot of dairy. It is unclear whether it’s dairy increasing the risk of prostate cancer in current studies.
We need better designed studies to find out more about the potential link.
And remember, eating or drinking some dairy has health benefits. And the NHS Eatwell guide(link is external) recommends having it as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Try to pick dairy or dairy alternative products that are low in fat and sugar.
Read more about recommended daily dairy portions below.
