Milk & Prostate Cancer: The Evidence Mounts

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Milk & Prostate Cancer: The Evidence Mounts JoAnn Guest Aug 17, 2003 15:53

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by Neal D. Barnard, M.D.

 

Could milk cause prostate cancer?

The question has come up repeatedly in recent months, as billboards

portraying New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

with a milk mustache carried the words, " Got Prostate Cancer? "

 

The outraged mayor countered that milk had nothing to do with his newly

diagnoseddisease, which also killed his father.

For the public, this was completely new

territory.

Does drinking milk actually contribute to cancer?

 

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.

 

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.

 

A Smoking Gun?

 

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.

 

Milk does other mischief.

 

The load of excess calcium depletes 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. Hormones play a major role in cancer.

 

And it would come as no surprise that milk might affect the growth of

cancer cells.

After all, milk's 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.

 

Researchers are investigating whether dairy products might be culprits

in other disease.

Ovarian cancer, in particular, may be linked to galactose, a sugar

produced from the milk sugar lactose.

 

Yogurt, cheese, " lactose-free " milk, and other dairy products contain

substantial amounts of galactose.

 

Other parts of the diet affect cancer risk, too.

 

Meat and fatty foods in general are implicated in increased risk, while

organic tomatoes, watermelons, and other bright red fruits contain

lycopene which reduces cancer risk.

 

The bottom line:

 

While researchers will study the causes of cancer for years to come,

health-conscious families may well want to trade dairy for a more

healthy diet rich in organic vegetables, fruits, whole

grains, and legumes.

 

When to make the switch? Evidence suggests that the earlier in life

healthy diet habits begin, the better your protection.

What?!

Does Everything Cause Cancer?

 

As a matter of fact, no.

 

Whole grains, beans and other legumes, vegetables, and fruits are

cancer fighters.

Plant foods are low in fat, high in fiber, and loaded with protective

cancer-fighting nutrients.

 

However dairy foods are linked to several forms of the disease. They

contain plenty of fat to harbor cancer-causing chemicals and to drive up

the levels of cancer-promoting hormones in your body.

 

They have no fiber that would normally sweep carcinogens from your

digestive tract and are low in cancer-fighting antioxidants.

 

And under normal cooking temperatures, the creatine, amino acids, and

natural sugars in meat can actually turn into cancer-causing chemicals.

 

A cancer-prevention diet includes plenty of:

 

Vegetables: carrots, broccoli, spinach, asparagus

 

Fruits: strawberries, kiwi, melon, bananas, apples

 

Whole grains: oatmeal, rice, spelt

 

Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, legumes

 

The most healthful diets eliminate red meats, dairy products, and fried

foods. To make the transition easy, you may wish to use rice milk,

almond milk or organic soymilk.

--

 

References

1. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research.

Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective.

American Institute for Cancer Research, Washington, D.C., 1997, p. 322.

2. Chan JM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, Ajani U, Gaziano JM, Giovannucci E. Dairy

 

products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the Physicians' Health

Study. Presentation, American Association for Cancer Research, San

Francisco, April 2000.

3. Cohen P. Serum insulin-like growth factor-I levels and prostate

cancer risk—interpreting the evidence. J Natl Cancer Inst 1998;90:876-9.

 

 

4. Cadogan J, Eastell R, Jones N, Barker ME. Milk intake and bone

mineral acquisition in adolescent girls: randomised, controlled

intervention trial. BMJ 1997;315:1255-60.

5. Heaney RP, McCarron DA, Dawson-Hughes B, et al. Dietary changes

favorably affect bone remodeling in older adults. J Am Dietetic Asso

1999;99:1228-33.

 

 

JoAnn Guest

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