According to the largest study of its kind, a daily glass of milk can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by nearly a fifth. Researchers from the University of Oxford have found the most compelling evidence yet that calcium provides protection against the deadly disease.
The team also discovered that consuming the equivalent of a daily glass of wine increases the risk of bowel cancer by 15%. Experts reacted to the study by advising people to maintain a balanced diet, keep a healthy weight, and quit smoking to lower their risk of bowel cancer, which affects over 44,000 individuals in the UK each year.
Statistics indicate that one in 20 women and one in 17 men in the UK will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime.
Over half of cases are preventable, with 13% caused by eating processed meat and 11% caused by overweight and obesity. The latest research, published in Nature Communications, examined 97 dietary factors and their impact on bowel cancer risk among 542,778 women participating in the Million Women Study.