A new review of over 47 research studies looked at the links between dairy consumption and Prostate Cancer. They found that increased levels of dairy consumption were associated with increased Prostate Cancer (PCa) risk.

The risks found in this study (link below) look to be limited mostly to milk, with only 1 out 6 studies showing a link between cheese and PCa, and 1 out of 3 studies showing a link with butter/cream. My guess is, there probably is a link with cheese and butter, but a much smaller one than with milk. Probably one that is more dependent on other factors, such as other dietary choices, exercise levels, and genetics. Dairy whey has been shown to increase insulin levels as much as sugar and this may, at least in part, be responsible for the increase in cancer. Milk is also much higher in lactose (milk sugar) than cheese or butter and adults are not designed to drink mother’s milk.

This study also looked at any association between PCa and red or white meat. There was no association found with white meat. As mentioned in the book, the issues found here with red meat were more limited to how it is cooked (with high temperature / char cooking methods being much worse), processed meats, and consuming fewer vegetables. Remember, if you eat a lot of meat you won’t have room for more beneficial foods such as vegetables. The object is to consume more vegetables, not to avoid meat.

Links between breast cancer and dairy are also very strong. Though the research is lacking in this area, my guess is that this risk is also mostly related to milk (rather than cheese and butter). This research also looked at people’s existing eating habits, so the quality of the milk (and other dairy) were not analyzed. Since heavy metals, hormones, and chemicals are known to concentrate in milk my guess is organic milk will have a lower risk than standard commercial milk. But, again, there is little evidence available to show this one way or the other.

The links between processed meat (and char cooked meats) and milk with higher cancer risk are pretty clear. My advice would be to avoid processed / char cooked meat. If you can avoid milk that is probably best, if you do consume milk make sure it is organic and try to reduce consumption.