Milk and Prostate Cancer.

Evidence also suggests that the earlier in life healthy diet habits begin, the better a male is protected. What do your sons drink at home and at school?

Dairy and Prostate Cancer

Does drinking milk actually contribute to prostate cancer?

A large study shows that high intakes of dairy products are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Conducted by Harvard School of Public Health's June Chan and her colleagues, the study appears in the October 2001 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It analyzed the dietary habits of more than 20,000 men participating in the 13-year-long Physicians' Health Study.

"The Physicians' Health Study offers compelling evidence that milk consumption increases the risk of prostate cancer, almost certainly by affecting a man's hormones," says PCRM president Neal D. Barnard, M.D. "Given how common and deadly prostate cancer is and the many healthy alternatives to milk, there is every reason for men to avoid cow's milk altogether." Dr. Barnard, a widely published nutrition researcher and author of six popular books on diet and health, has compiled a review of the scientific literature linking dairy consumption to prostate cancer. The Physicians' Health Study is the 16th study to show a link between dairy consumption and prostate cancer.

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The Physicians' Health Study is the 16th study to show a link between dairy consumption and prostate cancer.

Dr. Barnard writes, "Here are the facts: Major studies suggesting a link between milk and prostate cancer have appeared in medical journals since the 1970s. Two of six cohort studies (research studies following groups of people over time) found increased risk with higher milk intakes. Five studies comparing cancer patients to healthy individuals found a similar association. One of these, conducted in northern Italy, found that frequent dairy consumption could increase risk by two and one-half times.1

"In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research concluded that dairy products should be considered a possible contributor to prostate cancer. And yet another research study came out in April 2000 pointing to a link between dairy and prostate cancer: Harvard's Physicians' Health Study followed 20,885 men for 11 years, finding that having two and one-half dairy servings each day boosted prostate cancer risk by 34 percent, compared to having less than one-half
serving daily."

Dr. Barnard also writes, "Researchers are looking, not only at whether milk increases cancer risk, but how. The answer, apparently, is in the way milk affects a man's hormones. Dairy products boost the amount of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) in the blood. In turn, IGF-I promotes cancer cell growth.3-5 A small amount is normally in the bloodstream, but several recent studies have linked increased IGF-I levels to prostate cancer and possibly to breast cancer as well.

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The question is, "Does drinking milk actually contribute to prostate cancer?" The answer appears to be, "Yes."

"Milk does other mischief. Its load of calcium depletes the body's vitamin D, which, in turn, may add to cancer risk. Most dairy products are also high in fat, which affects the activity of sex hormones that play a major role in cancer.

"And it would come as no surprise that milk might affect the growth of cancer cells. After all, its biological purpose is to support rapid growth in all parts of a calf's body. After the age of weaning, calves (like all mammals) have no need for milk at all, and there is never a need to drink the milk of another species."

Evidence also suggests that the earlier in life healthy diet habits begin, the better a male is protected. What do your sons drink at home and at school?

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