A study of about 510,000 people: Drinking 50 grams of milk a day may increase the risk of cancer? still drink

"Want some milk?"

"No, no, no, I have abdominal pain when I drink milk, and I also have diarrhea, and my stomach growls. My mother asked a Chinese doctor and said that I have a weak spleen and should not eat."

Chinese medicine does not recommend drinking milk, while Western medicine says that milk improves immunity. What do you think?

1. Why do some Chinese medicine not recommend drinking milk?

"Milk food is yin and cold, and children can eat it with pure yang. However, after adults, especially the elderly, whose yang is weak, it is not suitable to drink milk." - This is a rumor that has been widely spread.

In fact, it is still questionable whether milk is cold or not . According to the records in the first monograph on geriatric medicine, "The Book of Retirement and Appreciation," milk is flat.

In addition, many foods such as mung beans, pears, lilies, winter melons, bananas, watermelons, etc. belong to the cold and cold, so is it not edible? Obviously not.

Many people will have diarrhea after drinking milk, which is mostly related to lactose intolerance , and the Chinese are a high-risk group of the disease, and most of them are adults with primary lactase deficiency. The activity of lactase increases with age. Therefore, for the elderly, it seems that "discomfort" symptoms are more likely to appear after drinking milk, which has nothing to do with "yang qi".

The so-called lactose intolerance refers to symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea after drinking milk. Some people may also develop rashes and pimples. This may be an allergy. It belongs to the milk protein allergy group and needs to be diagnosed in time.

In addition, it should be noted that the gastrointestinal function of abdominal surgery patients has not fully recovered. Drinking milk at this time is likely to increase the flatulence and affect the recovery of gastrointestinal function. It is recommended to drink it after a healthy body.

The fact that milk causes cancer is also a topic of constant debate, and recent studies seem to "prove" it.

2. 510,000 people study: drinking milk increases cancer risk

The team of Professor Du Huaidong and Professor Chen Zhengming from Oxford University, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the School of Public Health of Peking University, conducted a study to analyze the epidemiological data of 510,000 Chinese adults .

It was found that compared with people who did not consume dairy products on a daily basis, people who regularly consumed dairy products had a higher risk of breast cancer and liver cancer. Eating an extra 50 grams per day was associated with a 12% increased risk of liver cancer, a 17% increased risk of breast cancer, and a 7% increased risk of overall cancer.

Coincidentally, a recent study in the United States included 28,737 cancer-free male participants, followed for an average of 7.8 years, to assess the specific relationship between dairy and calcium intake and the risk of prostate cancer. Men with high intakes of dairy products and calcium had a significantly higher risk of prostate cancer compared with men with lower intakes of both.

3. Can you drink milk?

First of all, both studies have certain reference significance, but the conclusion that " the more dairy products you consume, the higher the risk of cancer " is a correlational conclusion of the study, and cannot be inferred as a causal relationship .

It is not to say that eating dairy products will cause cancer. In addition, there are limitations in the experiment, and there may be other factors in the experiment that may affect the results .

Food expert Ruan Guangfeng said that there have also been studies that have found that dairy products can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, so it is not possible to summarize the whole part. It is best to refer to the dietary guidelines for Chinese residents. The food and the results of multiple studies are summarized, which is more meaningful.

The nutritional level of milk is actually very high. It is a source of high-quality protein for the human body. It contains high-quality casein and whey protein and is easy to absorb. In addition, there are many trace elements and minerals, calcium-rich , is the main source of vitamin D for many people .

But dairy products, as good as they are, have some problems. For example, high fat content and calories, mostly saturated fat, too much intake, and do not avoid other high-fat foods, may increase the total cholesterol level. People who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk proteins, as mentioned above, are not suitable for drinking milk.

According to the recommendations in China's latest dietary guidelines, the daily intake of dairy products is 300 to 500g. In short, the attitude towards milk should be: after drinking milk, there is no discomfort, you can drink it with confidence. If you don’t drink it, you should pay more attention to supplementing with high-quality protein, calcium and vitamins.

4. Propylene glycol is detected in milk, what is this?

Not long ago, it was found that propylene glycol was detected in a certain milk. Propylene glycol is a low-toxic additive . If it is ingested in excess for a long time, it may cause problems such as kidney dysfunction.

Relevant experts said that after eating propylene glycol, 45% of propylene glycol will be excreted intact by the human kidneys, while the remaining 55% will be metabolized into lactic acid in the body. If the intake of propylene glycol is large, the metabolite lactic acid cannot be excreted and accumulates in the blood and kidneys, which may cause poisoning events, affect the nervous system and cause a decrease in heart rate, slow breathing, and in severe cases, may cause unconsciousness.

As a stabilizer, emulsifier and thickener, propylene glycol is not allowed to be used in dairy products according to national standards , but it can be used in raw wet flour products, cakes and their edible decorations.

So what is a safe dose of propylene glycol?

The safety standards set by WHO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization are: the daily intake of propylene glycol per kilogram of body weight should not exceed 25mg.

The daily intake of 4.7kg of propylene glycol for a person with a weight of about 60kg is considered to be excessive, and the daily intake of 1.25kg of propylene glycol for a 15kg child can reach the "cutpoint". So there is no need to worry too much about this.

Milk is a nutrient-rich food, but according to the current data, the intake of dairy products such as milk is still insufficient. If there is no discomfort after drinking milk, it is recommended that you develop the habit of drinking milk every day~

References:

[1] "Milk food is cold? Don't spread the word, the rumors stop here! 》.Health Times.2019-01-03

[2]Kakkoura, M.G., Du, H., Guo, Y. et al. Dairy consumption and risks of total and site-specific cancers in Chinese adults: an 11-year prospective study of 0.5 million people. BMC Med 20, 134 (2022).

[3]Orlich MJ, Mashchak AD, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Utt JT, Knutsen SF, Sveen LE, Fraser GE. Dairy foods, calcium intakes, and risk of incident prostate cancer in Adventist Health Study-2. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Jun 8:nqac093. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac093. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35672028.

[4] "Chinese drinking milk is associated with cancer risk? Can I still drink milk? 》. Ruan Guangfeng Nutritionist. 2022-05-13

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