More Evidence That Dairy Foods Increase Risk For Prostate Cancer

In a previous post I addressed the link between dairy foods and prostate cancer. Here's another study that supports the theory that consumption of dairy foods increases that risk.

Diets of 142,251 male participants of the EPIC study¹ were analyzed:

Animal Foods, Protein, Calcium And Prostate Cancer Risk: The European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer And Nutrition, British Journal of Cancer, May 2008

Findings:

A high intake of dairy protein was associated with an increased risk. ... The results support the hypothesis that a high intake of protein or calcium from dairy products may increase the risk for prostate cancer.

We estimated that a 35-g/day increase in consumption of dairy protein was associated with an increase in the risk of prostate cancer of 32%. ²

Calcium from dairy products was also positively associated with risk, but not calcium from other foods.

My previous post summarized a 2001 Harvard review of the body of evidence at that time on dairy intake and prostate cancer:

"[Consumption of dairy products] is one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer in the published literature."

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in men in the US, and the second leading cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). The American Cancer Society says that 1 man in 6 will get prostate cancer in his lifetime.
________¹ EPIC stands for European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.
² One cup of plain, non-fat yogurt has 14g protein.