Most men do not know that dairy consumption has been linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer.
A new survey of 1,102 US men found that just 20% knew milk and other dairy products had been associated with increased prostate cancer risk. Only 20% had ever received information from a healthcare professional about the relationship between nutrition and prostate cancer. When men were actually told about the association, 66% said they would be likely to avoid dairy products. People cannot make informed choices about what they eat if nobody tells them what the evidence says. And the evidence cited by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is not based on one isolated study.
A meta-analysis of 32 studies found evidence linking higher dairy consumption with increased prostate cancer risk. One study found that consuming at least one serving of skimmed or low-fat milk each day was associated with a 19% higher risk compared with rarely drinking it. Another study followed 3,612 men for between eight and ten years. Those consuming the most low-fat dairy, around three servings per day, were more than twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as those consuming less than one serving per day. The concern does not end with diagnosis. A meta-analysis involving more than 700,000 participants found that men consuming the most whole milk had a risk of death from prostate cancer as much as 50% higher than those consuming the least. Meanwhile, plant-based eating patterns have been associated with substantially better outcomes. The Adventist Health Study-2 found that men following a vegan diet had a 35% lower risk of prostate cancer compared with men following several other dietary patterns. Among more than 2,000 men already diagnosed with prostate cancer, those eating the most plant-based foods had a 56% lower risk of progression and a 59% lower risk of recurrence compared with those eating the fewest.
So why are men not being told?
More than three-quarters of those surveyed supported warning labels on dairy products informing consumers about prostate cancer risk. If a food is repeatedly associated with increased cancer risk, people deserve to know before they buy it. Especially when so many say that information would change what they choose to eat.
TAKE ACTION
If people deserve clear warnings about foods linked to cancer risk, processed meat should not get a free pass either.
Processed meat is classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen, yet there is still no cancer warning on the packet. Our petition is calling on the UK Government to require clear cancer warnings on processed meat products so people can make informed choices.
SIGN THE PETITION: PUT CANCER WARNINGS ON PROCESSED MEAT