Got Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer-related death among women in most of the Western world and the leading cause of death for women under 50. It strikes about 35,000 women in the UK each year and kills 14,000. Consuming dairy products is linked to an increased risk for breast cancer because dairy products are high in fat, animal protein, and hormones, each of which increases cancer risk. Since the 1980’s, study after study has linked dairy consumption to a high incidence of breast and other cancers. Women seeking to minimize their chances of breast cancer should avoid milk, other dairy products, and meat.

Just a few examples:

The American Cancer Society points out that "about one-third of the 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year is due to dietary factors … Although the committee recognizes that no diet can guarantee full protection against any disease, we believe that our recommendations offer the best nutrition information currently available to help Americans reduce their risk of cancer." The Society’s top two recommendations are: "1. Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources"; and "2. Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources."

The American Dietetic Association reports that breast cancer is most prevalent in countries where women consume high-fat, animal-based diets. In Asia, where milk consumption is extremely rare, breast cancer is almost unheard of. International renowned nutrition expert Dr. T. Colin Campbell points to China, a basically nonmilk-drinking country, where cancer deaths among women aged 35 to 64 averaged less than 9 per 100,000, as opposed to 44 per 100,000 in the U.S.

Japanese women who follow a more Western-style, meat- and dairy-based diet are eight times more likely to develop breast cancer than their counterparts who eat a plant-based diet not containing dairy products.

There are numerous other studies to cite. For example, Dr. J.L. Outwater of Princeton University and Drs. A. Nicholson and N. Barnard of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine cite more than 12 epidemiological studies that show a positive correlation between dairy products and breast cancer.

An Italian study revealed that breast cancer risks increased as a result of the consumption of animal fat, animal protein, most significantly with regard to dairy products. The authors of this study, published in the British Journal of Cancer , indicate that the results are consistent with previous reports. Additionally, doctors in Milan report data showing a strong correlation between dairy consumption and breast cancer.

Another Italian study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute , reported that adult women who reduce their dietary intake of fat and animal protein substantially lower their risk of breast cancer.

A survey of 1,486 Danish women with breast cancer indicated that women who frequently consumed "standard" (whole) milk or consumed three or more liters of low-fat milk per week prior to their diagnosis significantly elevated their risk of developing breast cancer.

A report published in Cancer Research correlates breast cancer mortality with dairy consumption and suggests that dairy products play a role in the development of breast cancer.

A comparison study published in Cancer shows that meat and milk consumption are positively associated with breast cancer deaths. Doctors found a strong link between breast cancer and animal fat, but no relationship between breast cancer and vegetable fat.

Researchers at Stanford University and the National Institutes of Health found that high concentrations of the IGF-1 hormone stimulate cancer cell growth. IGF-1, a hormone that occurs naturally in humans and cows and in all milk, is increasingly abundant in milk from cows treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone (rBGH). In the International Journal of Health Sciences , University of Illinois scientist Dr. Samuel Epstein warns that elevated levels of IGF-1 in milk from cows injected with rBGH is a potential risk factor for breast cancer in humans who consume cow’s milk.

Studies published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and the British Medical Journal found that consuming three additional servings of nonfat or 1 percent milk for 12 weeks was associated with a 10 percent increase in IGF-1 levels. The Food and Drug Administration reports that IGF-1 is not destroyed by pasteurization. In fact, pasteurization actually increases its concentration in rBGH milk.

Ready to reach for the soy milk? Click here for delicious dairy-free recipes .

For more information, visit these sites:

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "Foods for Cancer Prevention"

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "What’s Wrong with Dairy Products"

" Cancer and the Vegetarian Diet," by William Harris, M.D.

Statistics comparing breast cancer diagnoses to animal-food intake