- There is plenty of research suggesting that a person’s diet can affect their risk of cancer, particularly gastrointestinal cancers.
- Recent studies now add to that evidence, showing how different food items could either lower or heighten the risk of different forms of cancer.
- One study from January 2025 suggests that cow’s milk and other calcium-reach foods could help lower the risk of colorectal cancer.
- Another study, also from January, shows how fiber-rich foods may help lower colorectal cancer risk by causing bacteria in the gut to ‘switch on’ certain genes.
- Finally, research published in December 2024 suggested that drinking four cups of coffee daily is associated with a lower risk of head and neck cancer.
Over the years, many studies have suggested that our diets could influence our risk of cancer, particularly the risk of cancers affecting the gastrointestinal system.
Red and processed meat consumption, for instance, is linked with an increased risk of many different forms of cancer, including breast, endometrial, and colorectal cancer.
By contrast, diets rich in fruit and vegetables, such as the Mediterranean diet, are associated with a lower risk of cancer.
Over the past couple of months, new evidence has emerged highlighting the likely role of diet in cancer risk and prevention.
A study published in
The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, analyzed data from more than 542,000 participants enrolled in the Million Women Study.
It concluded that people who consumed dairy milk, yogurt, and foods including the nutrients
In particular, the study observed that people who had the equivalent of an extra glass of milk each day, or 300 milligrams (mg) of calcium, had a 17% lower relative risk for colorectal cancer.
“Cows’ milk is a rich source of dietary calcium and riboflavin, and the relationships between milk, calcium and riboflavin and risk of cancer incidence [observed in the study] were almost identical,” Tom Sanders, PhD, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London in the U.K., who was not involved in this study, explained to the press.
“A weaker protective relationship was found with breakfast cereals, especially wholegrain cereals, but this could be confounded by the fact that breakfasts are consumed with milk,” he noted.
As to why calcium may have a protective effect against this form of cancer, Sanders said that “one theory is that the calcium may bind to free bile acids in the gut, preventing the harmful effects of free bile acids on gut mucosa.”
Previous research has also suggested that fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and nuts, might have a protective effect against colorectal cancer.
A study published in
This study found that when gut bacteria break down plant fiber in the gut, they produce two types of molecules called short-chain fatty acids that may actually be responsible for keeping cancer at bay.
The two short-chain fatty acids in question are
“These [short-chain fatty acids] can influence the activity of both cancer-promoting (proto-oncogenes) and cancer-suppressing (tumor-suppressor) genes by modifying histones, the proteins that help package DNA. By making the DNA more accessible, SCFAs can turn certain genes on or off, depending on the cell type and conditions,” Şebnem Ünlüişler, genetic engineer and Chief Longevity Officer at the London Regenerative Institute, who was not involved in the study, explained to Medical News Today.
This process “blocks enzymes called histone deacetylases, leading to changes in DNA packaging that can slow down cancer cell growth or even trigger [the cancer cells] death,” she detailed.
A more surprising recent finding was that drinking more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with a lower risk of neck and head cancer, according to a study published in the journal
The study analyzed pooled data from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium (INHANCE), including 14 individual-level case-control studies.
The decreased risk associated with drinking four or more coffees per day also applied to mouth cancer and oropharyngeal cancer.
“This study showed a decreased risk of head and neck cancers with increasing coffee or tea. Most of the effect was seen in drinking more than four cups of caffeinated coffee and less than [or at most the equivalent of] one cup of tea daily,” Kanwar Kelley, MD, JD, board certified otolaryngologist (ENT) and co-founder and CEO of Side Health, who was not involved in the study, told MNT.
Nevertheless, he also cautioned that the quantity of coffee with which this effect was associated may be too much for some:
“The amount of coffee that needs to be consumed for the effect is likely more than is usually consumed in a day. Those sensitive to caffeine will likely have difficulty drinking this much coffee to experience the effect.”
— Kanwar Kelley, MD, JD
“At the end of the day, this study shows we can still enjoy our coffee in the morning but,” Kelly emphasized, “we do not have to try and drink more than usual to protect from head and neck cancer.”
