Two servings of yogurt a week may protect the intestines from certain types of cancer, according to a new study published in the United States.
Scientists have long been skeptical about the health benefits of yogurt and its live bacteria for digestive health. However, not all research on this topic agrees on the specific benefits and when they occur.
اضافة اعلان
Generally, epidemiologists have not found a strong correlation between yogurt and colorectal cancer, which is the third most common cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
However, when the researchers broke down colorectal cancer cases into subtypes, they found a significant result.
These findings align with several other studies suggesting that yogurt consumption may have anti-tumor properties.
Epidemiologist Shoji Ogino from Harvard University stated, "Our study provides unique evidence of the potential benefit of yogurt."
He added, "The laboratory approach is an attempt to link long-term dietary patterns with potential differences in tissues, such as the presence or absence of certain bacteria. This type of investigative work can strengthen the evidence linking diet to health outcomes."
Although the findings are observational, they include data on the health and lifestyle of 87,000 women and about 45,000 men who had their diets tracked for 30 years or more.
Individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer who consumed two or more servings of yogurt per week were 20% less likely to have tumors positive for Bifidobacterium bacteria compared to those who consumed less than one serving of yogurt per month.
This was particularly true for tumors located in the upper part of the intestines.
Bifidobacterium is a microbe found in the human gut and in regular yogurt. In about 30% of colorectal cancer cases, this bacteria is integrated into the tumor tissue, often associated with a more aggressive type of cancer.
Bifidobacterium thrives in low-oxygen environments, and its presence in some colon tumors suggests that it seeps through the intestinal barrier into colon tissues at higher-than-normal rates.
It may seem counterintuitive that consuming more Bifidobacterium could help prevent this seepage in the long run.
Preliminary studies suggest that this bacteria may have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting effects, which could influence the health of the gut microbiome and the intestinal barrier.
Whether yogurt can provide these benefits is still under research, but the available evidence supporting this is growing.
The new study concludes, "The findings suggest that yogurt consumption may have a protective effect against colorectal cancer in cases of intestinal barrier dysfunction."
"Further studies are necessary to clarify the potential mechanisms by which long-term yogurt consumption may impact colon cancer formation."
Compared to distal colon cancer, which causes tumors in the lower parts of the digestive tract, proximal colon cancer has a lower survival rate, and these types of cancers are also on the rise.
The idea that food could serve as a preventive treatment is worth further exploration. A 2021 randomized trial from Stanford University showed that fermented foods like yogurt could influence the microbiome and immune system in healthy adults.
Epidemiologist Andrew Chan from Massachusetts General Hospital, who was part of the latest analysis, stated that their paper "adds to the growing evidence showing the connection between diet, the gut microbiome, and the risk of colorectal cancer."
He added, "It provides an additional pathway for us to investigate the specific role these factors play in the risk of colorectal cancer among younger individuals."
