Dairy Just Got Scarier For Women
Milk Update
Our first podcast, Scary Dairy, looked at whether we’re meant to drink milk or not - and what the impact might be on our health.
We interviewed three experts who all agreed that adult humans are not designed to drink milk - but they disagreed over the health impact.
One of the most striking statistics was the surge in fatal breast and prostate cancer rates in Japan after WW2 - once the country introduced milk (and more fat) into its diet. Of course, this isn’t a simple question of causation.
A new study has just come out which we really think is worth sharing - which really questions whether women should be drinking milk.
Breast Cancer Risk of Up To 80%
The study in the International Journal of Epidemiology followed the diets of 53,000 North American women for eight years. It found:
Drinking even small amounts of milk a day - a quarter to a third of a cup - increased the risk of breast cancer by 30%
Drinking up to one cup per day - the associated risk went up to 50%,
Two or three cups a day raised the risked up to 70% or 80%
In other words, drinking milk can increase the risk of breast cancer by up to 80%.
Soya milk seemed to have no cancer impact.
The scientists, Loma Linda University Health, think it might be due to the sex hormone content of dairy milk.
A more digestible breakdown of the study can be found here.
>> Listen to Scary Dairy on BBC Sounds or here on Spotify…
