Eating yogurt could help protect against aggressive form of colorectal cancer, study finds
BOSTON - Yogurt has often been touted as good for gut health. Now, in a new study, researchers at Mass General Brigham in Boston have found it may be beneficial in the fight against cancer.
The study released Wednesday found that people who ate two or more servings of yogurt per week tended to have lower rates of a particularly aggressive form of colorectal cancer.
"Our study provides unique evidence about the potential benefit of yogurt," study author Dr. Shuji Ogino of Brigham and Women's Hospital said in a statement. "This kind of detective work can increase the strength of evidence connecting diet to health outcomes."
Yogurt eaters had lower rate of certain type of cancer
Researchers looked at more than 3,000 cancer cases, as well as the diets of more than 150,000 health professionals. The study participants answered questions about how much plain and flavored yogurt they ate, as well as other dairy products.
The study did not find a significant link between eating yogurt and overall incidents of colorectal cancer, but it did find a 20% lower rate of "Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer." That type of cancer occurs in the right side of the colon and has been found to be deadlier than other types of colorectal cancer.
Colon cancer is on the rise in young people, with patients younger than 55 making up 20% of new cases, according to the American Cancer Society. Researchers think the healthy bacteria found in yogurt could help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer by changing the microbes in the digestive system.
"This paper adds to the growing evidence that illustrates the connection between diet, the gut microbiome, and risk of colorectal cancer," study co-author Dr. Andrew Chan said. "It provides an additional avenue for us to investigate the specific role of these factors in the risk of colorectal cancer among young people."
