If you want to live longer following a colon cancer diagnosis, here’s one way to do it: Eat a dairy-rich diet. New research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology says that people who drank the most milk reduced their risk of dying from any cause by 28 percent.
Published online on the Journal of Clinical Oncology’s website on June 23, the research was led by Peter Campbell, part of the American Cancer Society’s epidemiology research program.
“If you are a colorectal cancer patient, calcium and milk consumption may improve your survival,” says Campbell. “If our findings are replicated in future studies, we may see changes in dietary guidelines for cancer survivors: patients might be encouraged to increase calcium and milk intake.”
The Study
Collecting data on nearly 2,300 people diagnosed with colon cancer, Campbell and his team wanted to find out how diet specifically affected a person’s chances of survival, such as dairy.
They looked at data between 1992 and 2009 involving colon cancer patients whose cancer had not spread beyond the colon, a sign that the cancer was not end stage.
By 2010, 949 patients had died, of which 408 could be attributed to cancer. Researchers then looked to see if their consumption of dairy products decreased or increased the likelihood that they would die.
Comparing the data, Campbell found that those who drank the most milk faced around a 30 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause, including cancer. Researchers also note that those who drank the most milk also were leaner, exercised more, ate more fruits and vegetables, and generally abstained from red meat–all factors that can improve a person’s cancer survival.
And this too is something scientist Dr. Donald Abrams notes, who is also highly critical of the study.
“It’s silly to look at milk in isolation, because [according to the study] the people who drank the most milk also were the leanest, did the most physical exercise, ate less red meat, and ate more fruits and vegetables,” says Abrams, who works as an integrative oncologist at the University of California San Francisco. “The message is it’s the whole diet, not a single component.”
In the meanwhile, Campbell says these findings are “statistically significant,” but warns that cancer patients should not change their diets until further research is completed.
What You Should Do
While cancer patients should listen to their physician’s advice first, the findings in Campbell’s study still have real-world applications for those at risk. To minimize your risk of colon cancer, consider adding more dairy to your diet, if haven’t already. It would be wise to listen to the advice given by Abrams as well, who says that getting more exercise, staying lean, and adding more fruits and vegetables are healthy lifestyle options.
Readers: What other lifestyle changes have you made to reduce your risk of any type of cancer?
Source:
Study: Diets High in Dairy Boost Survival Rate of Those Diagnosed With Colon Cancer – MedicalXpress.com
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