GP explains how increasing your dairy intake can help reduce your bowel cancer risk: ‘Avoiding it is doing more harm than good’

Experts are urging Britons to drink more milk and reject ‘trendy’ non-dairy alternatives to slash their risk of bowel cancer.

Research shows that just one glass a day can reduce the likelihood of developing the fourth most common form of the disease by 17 per cent.

However, Dr Rupa Parmar, GP at Midland Health, says that she is treating a growing number of dairy-avoiding patients who are unaware that they might putting themselves at risk.

Currently in Britain nearly one in every ten glasses of milk drunk is a plant based alternative – just a decade ago, the figure was one in a hundred.

The average person now only drinks two pints of milk a week compared to five in 1974.

‘I see it in the clinic all the time,’ says Dr Parmar. ‘The term dairy intolerance is thrown around very loosely and many people are self diagnosing themselves with it. When we actually do the tests they often do not have the condition.

‘Being dairy free has become quite a trend because people see it as fattening, but often they are doing more harm than good by avoiding it.’

She points to evidence that dairy can actually reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

The theory is that the protective role of calcium may come from its ability to bind to bile acids and free fatty acids in the colon, therefore lowering their potentially cancer-causing effects. 

Last year researchers at the University of Oxford found that a glass of milk a day could slash the risk of being diagnosed with bowel cancer.

An additional 300mg of calcium a day – about the amount in a large glass of milk – could be linked to a 17 per cent decrease in the risk of bowel cancer.

Scientists analysed dietary data from more than 542,000 women to investigate the link between 97 products and nutrients and the chances of someone developing the cancer.

The findings showed that food and drink rich in calcium such as milk and yoghurt were linked to a lower risk of a diagnosis over 16 years.

Calcium was found to have a similar effect from both dairy and non-dairy sources, suggesting it was the main factor responsible for cutting risk.

However, eating lots of cheese or ice cream did not make a difference, the team discovered.

‘The key is calcium, so that it can come in any form, so milk, yoghurt but also tofu or milk alternatives that are fortified with calcium,’ says Dr Parmar.

The findings from the Oxford study, published in the journal Nature Communications, also reinforced the clear link between alcohol consumption and a higher colon cancer risk.

Drinking an extra 20g of alcohol a day – equivalent to a large glass of wine – was found to cause a 15 per cent increase in risk across the cohort.

Red and processed meat were among the other dietary foods associated with higher chances of bowel cancer, with 30g more per day linked to an 8 per cent increase in risk.

Dr Parmar said: ‘It’s important to understand that risk factors are a part of a whole, and focusing on a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise, is the best way to reduce your risk of any cancer.

‘Quitting smoking, if you do, and minimising how much alcohol you consume are also two big ways to prevent bowel cancer. It’s all about moderation and making healthy choices.’

As well as managing lifestyle factors experts warn that more people need to be aware of the early symptoms.

‘If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms of bowel cancer, such as persistent changes in bowel habits, blood in your poo, unexplained weight loss, or abdominal pain, see your GP as soon as possible,’ says Dr Parmar.

‘As with any cancer, early detection and treatment are key for the highest chances of remission and survival. Fortunately, cancer actually has a high survival rate if diagnosed early; over 90% of people survive 5 years or more when the cancer is found in Stage 1.’

Bowel cancer is the fourth-most common type of the disease in Britain, and is responsible for around 46,600 new cancer cases every year, as well as 17,700 deaths.

The deadly disease is also on the rise in young people. Since the early 1990s, the number of bowel cancer patients aged 25 to 49-year-olds has risen by around 50 per cent.

In February, Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek died after a two year battle with bowel cancer, aged 48.