Drinking cow's milk daily increases breast cancer risk 70-80%

You can measure your breast cancer risk by how much milk you drink

Choosing the healthiest milk isn’t easy nowadays. There are so many options, and the advice about them is constantly changing…

Almond milk. Oat milk. Coconut milk. Hemp milk. Soymilk. Rice milk. Just when you decide on one, a new one pops up. And you wonder… should I be drinking that instead?

Honestly? It’s enough to drive you crazy. That’s probably why a lot of people opt out of the whole plant-based milk thing altogether and stick to cow’s milk. But even that’s controversial…

We’ve been told for years that cow’s milk is healthy. In fact, U.S. dietary guidelines still recommend that you drink three cups of milk per day. But there’s a lot of evidence that cow’s milk contributes to serious health problems… including a new study that shows it could cause your breast cancer risk to skyrocket…

Measuring your breast cancer risk by the cup

A recent study from Loma Linda University found that women who drink cow’s milk have a higher risk of breast cancer.

The study included dietary data from nearly 53,000 women, none of whom had cancer. When researchers followed up with these women eight years later, 1,057 of them had breast cancer. Here’s what the women who developed breast cancer had in common…

They received more calories from dairy products, specifically cow’s milk.

Women who drank two to three cups of milk per day (what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and USDA currently recommend in their dietary guidelines) had a 70 to 80 percent higher breast cancer risk. Women who drank one glass of milk per day had a 50 percent higher breast cancer risk. Even women who drank small amounts of milk — 1/4 to 1/3 cup per day — weren’t off the hook. They had a 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer.

This information is alarming, to say the least. Researchers even said that the study is “fairly strong evidence that either dairy milk or some other factor closely related to drinking dairy milk is a cause of breast cancer in women.” But why?

Well, when I first read about this study, I had a hunch why cow’s milk might be driving breast cancer risk. And researchers had the same suspicions I did…

It’s hormones.

Cow’s milk is full of hormones. You probably know that recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and other hormones are given to dairy cows to promote milk production. But even when cows don’t receive synthetic hormones, their milk naturally contains hormones. That’s because dairy cows are pregnant and/or lactating… which means they’re producing high levels of estrogens. That estrogen gets passed into their milk, and then passed to us when we drink their milk. And estrogen imbalances are connected to a variety of cancers… breast cancer being one of them.

So, is drinking cow’s milk out of the question?

When negative studies come out about dairy, I usually give one piece of advice…

Go organic and grass-fed. I think choosing natural milk from well-treated cows goes a long way toward eliminating some of the more dangerous repercussions of dairy products. But in this case, I can’t say for sure that organic, grass-fed milk won’t increase your breast cancer risk too….

There aren’t studies to confirm that either way. I do know that since all dairy cows need to be lactating to produce milk, there are still hormones in your organic, grass-fed gallon. So, it’s up to you if you want to take the risk.

If you do decide to keep drinking milk, there’s one important fact to know…. hormones are fat-soluble, which means there’s more of them in full-fat milk than reduced fat.

Keeping dairy intake to a minimum is probably the safest idea for most of us. That may mean cutting back on some of your favorite foods (like my personal favorite, cheese) or replacing dairy with plant-based products in certain dishes. Of course, that puts you in the pickle of trying to choose among the many plant-based milks. So, here are a few healthy options to get you started:

Almond milk. Almond milk has 50 percent more calcium than a cup of cow’s milk. And it contains a healthy dose of vitamin E. The only downsides? It doesn’t contain much protein. And store-bought almond milks contain mostly water and very little almond — only 2 percent. So, you might want to make your own almond milk.
Oat milk. Oat milk is rich in soluble fiber, which great for your blood sugar and feeds the healthy bacteria in your gut. But it can contain more sugar than other options… even if there’s no sugar added. That’s because the oat starch breaks down into simple sugars during the creation process. In my opinion, oat milk is one of the better tasting milk alternatives. It’s rich, creamy and great in a latte.
Hemp milk. Hemp milk is high in calcium and it contains healthy fats. It’s also low in calories… but also, unfortunately, low in protein. Hemp milk has a rich, buttery flavor, which makes it one of the tastier options too.

No matter which plant-based milk you choose, read the label. Many plant-based milks contain added sugars, thickeners and flavoring agents that make them less healthy. If you can’t find one that meets your standards, make your own. Almond milk is one of the easiest milks to make and you can find videos online to follow.

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