Milk may reduce cancer risk

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE a pint of milk a day could protect against cancer, reports the Daily Express.

Research suggests that people who have two glasses of milk a day have a 12% lower risk of developing bowel cancer.

The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is based on analysis of 10 studies in five countries.

It found people who consumed six to eight ounces of milk a day had a 12% lower risk of later developing colorectal cancer, than those who drank fewer than two glasses a week.

But the paper reports that scientists did not find a significant reduction of risk associated with other dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt.

It is thought that calcium in the milk reduce the occurrence of polyps that can turn cancerous.

But the paper says that other experts believe dairy products can increase the risk of other cancers such as breast and prostate.