http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/528420?sssdmh=dm1.186557&src=nldne
" * Milk was the dairy product most associated with a reduced risk
for colorectal cancer. Subjects who consumed more than 1.5 glasses of
milk per day had a 33% lower risk for colorectal cancer vs participants
who drank less than 2 glasses per week. The benefit of milk appeared
regardless of milk fat content. The authors note that cheese and yogurt
may not have improved colorectal cancer risk on their own because these
foods accounted for a much smaller fraction of dietary calcium
consumption compared with milk.
Pearls for Practice
* A pooled analysis of prospective trials demonstrated that
consumption of both dairy products and calcium consumption had an
inverse relationship on the risk for colorectal cancer. The benefits of
milk consumption were limited to cancer of the distal colon and rectum.
* The current study found that dietary consumption of both calcium
and dairy products reduces the overall incidence of colorectal cancer in
men, with no significantly different effects on specific colonic sites
of cancer. Milk was the most effective dairy product in reducing the
risk for colorectal cancer, and there was little added preventive
benefit above a daily intake of 1400 mg of dietary calcium per day."
Note, fat content did not alter risk.
Susan
Max C. - 27 Mar 2006 20:39 GMT
Do we know kind of milk was used for this study or how it was processed
prior to being used?
Even though I support drinking milk when it's raw and from properly fed
animals, I must admit that this study sounds hard to believe... mainly
because pasteurized milk is a lousy source of dietary calcium. In
order to best utilize milk calcium, the enzyme phosphatase needs to be
present. Pasteurization kills phosphatase and most other enzymes, thus
rendering the milk far less nutritious than it would be raw.
Max.