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Does eating dairy increase your risk of prostate cancer?


Recent headlines What is the warning? A food regimen high in dairy foods may increase the chance of prostate cancer in men.

Based on the news. A recent review A study published within the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association claims that eating more plant-based foods may reduce the chance of prostate cancer, while eating more dairy products may increase the chance. can

But in case you're a person, before you delve into the dietary advantages and pleasure of milk, cheese, and yogurt, let's take a more in-depth have a look at these results.

What did the study do?

The study was a review, which implies the researchers combined the outcomes of several existing studies to succeed in their conclusions.

They checked out 47 studies in what they claim is a comprehensive review of all available data from 2006-2017. These studies have linked the chance of prostate cancer with a wide range of foods, including vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, meat (red, white, and processed), milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, total dairy, and calcium (in foods and supplements). The relationship was evaluated. ), eggs, fish and fat.



Some studies followed groups of men initially freed from prostate cancer over time to see in the event that they developed the disease (these are called cohort studies). Others compared the health habits of men with and without prostate cancer (called case-control studies). Some studies recorded the incidence of prostate cancer within the cohort, while others focused on cancer progression.

For each potential risk factor, reviewers marked studies as having no effect, or increased or decreased prostate cancer risk. Results were significantly different for all foods tested.

For cohort studies (that are considered more reliable than case-control studies), three for vegan diets and one for legumes recorded a discount in prostate cancer risk. For vegetarian diets and vegetables, some reported a reduced risk and a few reported no effect. Fruits, grains, white meat and fish weren’t affected in any respect.

Eggs and processed meat (one study each), beef (one in six studies), fat (two in five), total dairy (seven in 14), milk (six in 15) The danger was reported. cheese (one in six), butter (one in three), calcium (three in 4 from food and two in three from supplements) and fat (two in five).

Notably, some very large cohort studies included within the review showed no association with milk or other dairy products. And most case-control studies, though admittedly less reliable, have shown no association.

The authors also excluded other studies published throughout the review period that showed There is no significant association Between dairy and prostate cancer.

An individual's weight has a greater effect on their risk of developing prostate cancer than whether or not they eat dairy.
From shutterstock.com

So inconsistent in the outcomes of all of the studies reviewed – including large cohort studies – there may be very limited evidence linking dairy products to prostate cancer.

Could it’s vitamin D?

In previous research, the link between milk and prostate cancer has been attributed to high calcium intake, possibly altering the production of a specific form. Vitamin D contained in the body.

Vitamin D is a very important regulator of cell growth and proliferation, so scientists consider it could cause prostate cancer cells to grow unchecked. But the evidence on this is proscribed, and the review adds little to this hypothesis.



Perhaps probably the most surprising omission of the review is mention. World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) Continuous Update Project Report on Prostate Cancer. This rigorous global evaluation of the scientific literature identified many strong risk aspects that must be regarded as potential confounders.

For example, the evidence has been described as “strong” that being obese or obese, and being tall (separate from weight), are related to an increased risk of prostate cancer. The exact reasons for this should not fully understood but could also be particularly essential in Australia where 74% of men are overweight or obese..

Oh A new Australian study The next body mass index was found to be a risk factor for aggressive prostate cancer.

For dairy products and diets high in calcium, the evidence stays “limited,” in accordance with the WCRF.



It's about whole foods.

It is unwise to guage any food regimen by a single food group or nutrient. An overall healthy food regimen must be the goal.

That being said, milk, cheese and yogurt are included Australian Dietary Guidelines Because of evidence linking them to a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, bowel cancer and obesity. These dairy products are also sources of protein, calcium, iodine, several B-complex vitamins and zinc.

The evidence regarding dairy products and prostate cancer is inconclusive. So before fussing about giving up milk, cheese and yogurt, men who want to cut back their risk of prostate cancer could also be advised to lose more weight. – Rosemary Stanton


Blind peer review

I agree with the creator of this research check that highlights the high degree of variability in the outcomes of the studies examined on this review.

While the authors searched three journal databases, most comprehensive reviews search as much as eight databases. Further, the authors didn’t assess the methodological quality of the studies they checked out. The results should subsequently be interpreted with caution.

Although the authors concluded that the next intake of plant foods could also be protective against prostate cancer, the info presented within the paper indicate that more studies show no increased risk than reduced risk. There was no effect, so it shouldn’t be clear how they reached this conclusion. For total dairy they present a figure showing that there have been as many studies showing no effect or low risk as there have been showing high risk.

Importantly, they didn’t conduct a meta-analysis, where data are mathematically pooled to supply an overall effect across studies.

As the reviewer points out, many other essential sources of high-quality data haven’t been included and there are recent high-quality systematic reviews on this topic that might be consulted. – Claire Collins