According to a new study made by researchers at the University of Oxford, women who have just one alcoholic drink each day increase their risk of breast, rectal and liver cancer. Researchers found that consuming just one drink a day causes an extra 7,000 cancer cases in women in the UK each year.
It seems that the type of alcohol didn’t matter. Also, moderate drinkers actually had a lower risk of thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and renal cell cancer.
At the same time, among women, high calcium intake was associated with a reduced overall cancer risk. According to this observational study in which researchers reviewed dietary profiles for possible links to cancer; the report was published in The Archives of Internal Medicine and in the Journal of National Institute of Cancer. “In both men and women, dairy food and calcium intakes were inversely associated with cancers of the digestive system,” the authors of the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine wrote.
Scientist Yikyung Park and his colleagues based their results on data gathered from 293,907 men and 198,903 women, aged between 50 and 71, who participated in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.
According to British Nutrition Foundation, a recent UK survey found that 25% of girls (aged 15-18 years) and young women have inadequate calcium intakes – a glass (200ml) of milk each day could make all the difference. For example:
– A glass of semi-skimmed milk provides 98kcal and 244mg calcium;
– A glass of whole milk provides 136kcal and 238mg calcium;
– A glass of skimmed mil provides 68kcal and 248mg calcium.
The daily amounts of calcium that we are recommended to consume to meet (or more than meet) our needs (Dietary Reference Values) are:
– 450mg for 4-6 year old boys and girls
– 550mg for 7-10 year old boys and girls
– 1000mg and 800mg for boys and girls (respectively) aged 11-18 years
– 700mg for all adults.
However, the U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends a daily calcium intake of 1,200 milligrams for adults. This would be about the equivalent of three cups of milk or other dairy products a day. Green, leafy vegetables are also a good source of calcium.
For the prevention of osteoporosis, a high calcium intake is recommended especially for women. It is recommended that a daily intake of low fat milk or skim milk with 2 glasses per day can give the women sufficient levels of calcium especially if taken regularly during the premenopause.
In addition, a study carried out by the University of Cardiff indicates that consuming dairy products significantly reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome. The twenty year study which was published in the ‘Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health’ states that metabolic syndrome increases the risk of death by 50%. The study of 2,375 men aged between 45 and 59 classified metabolic syndrome as including two or more of the following; high blood glucose, insulin, blood fats, body fat, and blood pressure.
Therefore, taking low fat diary products should be aggressively advised to all women of all ages because of their health benefits with regard to preserving bone health, lower ones risk to be overweight but also the potential to lower ones risk to develop diabetes in the future.
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