There are around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer every year, making it the fourth most common cancer in the UK. Studies suggest that more than half of all cases of bowel cancer are preventable.
In the study funded by Cancer Research UK, researchers used dietary data from more than 542,000 women who participated in the Million Women Study and looked at their health records over an average of 16 years to investigate the link between 97 food products and nutrients and bowel cancer risk.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, showed that foods and drinks rich in calcium such as milk and yoghurt were associated with a lower risk of a bowel cancer diagnosis. Calcium was found to have a similar effect in both dairy and non-dairy sources, suggesting that it was the main factor responsible for cutting risk.
Key findings:
- Food and drinks rich in calcium such as milk and yoghurt were associated with a lower risk of bowel cancer;
- Calcium was found to have a similar effect in both dairy and non-dairy sources, suggesting that it may be the main factor responsible for reducing risk of cancer;
- There was a clear link between alcohol consumption and increased risk of bowel cancer. An additional 20g of alcohol (equivalent to a large glass of wine) was associated with a 15% increased risk of bowel cancer;
- Red and processed meat were among the other foods associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer with 30g more per day linked to an 8% increase in risk.
Dr Keren Papier, Senior Nutritional Epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health and lead author, said ‘This is the most comprehensive single study ever conducted into the relationship between diet and bowel cancer, and it highlights the potential role of calcium in the development of this disease. Further research is needed to understand the potential health impacts of increasing calcium in different populations.’
For more information see the full story on the Oxford Population Health website.