Nonfat Milk Linked to Prostate Cancer
Drinking low-fat or nonfat milk may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer, while calcium and vitamin D intake appear to have little or no impact, according to two new studies.
The first, which included over 82,000 men between the ages of 45 and 72, found that neither calcium nor vitamin D from any source increased the risk of prostate cancer during the eight-year follow-up period.
However, further analysis by University of Hawaii researchers of food groups and consumption of dairy products found that drinking low-fat or nonfat milk increased the risk of localized tumors or non-aggressive tumors, while whole milk decreased this risk.
A second study by researchers from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health investigated the relationship of calcium, vitamin D and prostate cancer in nearly 300,000 men.
After the average six-year follow-up period, skim milk was linked to advanced prostate cancer, while calcium from non-dairy food was linked to a reduced risk of non-advanced prostate cancer.
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