There is a “direct link” between dairy products and cancer risk

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The role of diet in influencing cancer risk is controversial, although researchers have determined that certain foods definitely cause cancer.

For example, the World Health Organization has identified processed meat as a major the cause of cancer. A major new study links consumption to an increased risk of certain cancers.

To date, the overall evidence on whether dairy consumption affects cancer risk is conflicting.

Studies in Western populations suggest that dairy products may be associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer and a higher risk of prostate cancer , but did not reveal a clear connection with breast cancer.

Now, the first major study looking at dairy consumption and cancer risk has found that higher consumption was associated with a higher risk of liver cancer and breast cancer.

The study was based on nearly 30,000 cancer diagnoses among half a million Chinese adults. These results, however, may differ in non-Western populations, where the amounts and types of dairy consumption and ability to metabolize vary widely.

Although the results of these studies do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship, according to the researchers, there are several possible biological mechanisms that may explain these connections.

For example, according to the Mayo Clinic, increased consumption of dairy products can increase levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which promotes cell proliferation and linked to an increased risk of certain cancers.

Potentially, female sex hormones present in cow's milk (such as estrogen and progesterone) may play a role in the increased risk of breast cancer, while saturated and trans fats acids from dairy products may increase the risk of liver cancer.