Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world. It is prevalent in high-income countries, including immigrants who have lived for more than ten years. It can be seen that the main cause of the disease is lifestyle. A recent article published in Nature Communications shows that eating more dairy products can reduce the risk, and the core is calcium.
The research team collected information on 542,000 women around 60 years old in the UK, and a total of 12,000 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer during the follow-up period. Among the 97 dietary factors, 17 are related to the incidence of cancer. Alcohol is the highest positive correlation item. 10 grams of alcohol per day increases the risk by 7%, and 30 grams of red meat or processed meat per day also increases the risk by 8%.
Calcium is the highest negative correlation item. 300 mg of calcium intake per day can reduce the risk by 17%, and 200 grams of milk can reduce it by 14%. Further analysis shows that the core of milk cancer prevention is calcium, and other nutrients in milk do not have a significant impact.
The analysis pointed out that calcium can promote epithelial cell differentiation, reduce DNA oxidative damage, and protect the intestinal mucosa; it can bind bile acids and free fatty acids in the intestinal cavity to reduce their carcinogenic risk.
Is it useful to take calcium tablets? The dietary calcium baseline in the high calcium intake population in this study was already very high, and calcium supplements had no effect, but other studies have shown that taking 300 mg of calcium tablets per day can reduce the risk of cancer by 9%.
Experts pointed out that this study found a strong correlation between calcium and colorectal cancer, and it is recommended to increase calcium intake through dairy products such as milk. What overall health benefits and risks will increase calcium intake, and how lactose-intolerant people can increase calcium intake, need further exploration.