Milk and breast cancer: What’s the link?

We have been hearing from our elders and even health experts that drinking milk daily is good for health, but a new study has refuted it, at least for women.

The study revealed that regularly drinking milk may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer by up to 80%, depending upon the amount consumed. Consuming less than a cup of dairy milk a day was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of breast cancer. However, cheese, yogurt and soy foods like soymilk didn’t appear to increase the breast cancer risk. The findings of the study appeared in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

What is the link between milk and breast cancer? The researchers believe that the sex hormone content of dairy milk may be one reason as breast cancer in women is a hormone-responsive cancer. Most dairy cows are lactating and pregnant, and when women drink dairy milk, they get exposed to those hormones.

Some studies also showed that consumption of dairy products and other animal protein led to the increase of a hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). This hormone is believed to promote certain cancers.

In 2003, a study had also linked consumption of high-fat dairy products such as whole milk and butter with a higher risk of breast cancer in women. The risk was seen when women consumed two or more servings of high-fat dairy products every day.

WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR BREAST CANCER RISK

While some risk factors, such as family history, can’t be changed, you can make some lifestyle changes to lower breast cancer risk. These include healthy habits, limiting alcohol intake and staying active. Here are other things you can do to lower your breast cancer risk:

Control your weight

If you are overweight or obese, you are at greater risk of developing breast cancer. The risk is higher if obesity occurs later in life, particularly after menopause.

Breast-feed

Breast-feeding is good for your child, but it can also prevent you from breast cancer. The longer you continue to breast-feed your child, the better for you.

Avoid exposure to radiation

Frequent exposure to radiation may increase your breast cancer risk, according to researchers. As far as possible avoid medical-imaging tests, such as computerized tomography, as these emit high doses of radiation. Take such tests only when absolutely necessary.

Increase dietary fiber intake

A recent study found that young women who eat high-fibre foods in their adolescence, especially fruits and vegetables, had significantly lower breast cancer risk. The study led by researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health was published in the journal Pediatrics. The authors believed that eating more fibre-rich foods may help reduce high estrogen levels in the blood, which are strongly linked with breast cancer development.

Don’t smoke

Smoking is known to increase breast cancer risk, particularly in premenopausal women. Smokers may also experience increased complications from breast cancer treatment, including damage to the lungs from radiation therapy, difficulty healing after surgery and breast reconstruction, as well as higher risk of blood clots when taking hormonal therapy medicines