Eating a portion of yoghurt everyday could make all the difference to your health, a top physician has said. Rates of bowel cancer are on the rise, especially among young adults – with 45,000 people in the UK diagnosed every year, and confirmed cases around the world rising by nearly 20%. While it’s unclear what has caused the recent spike in cases, experts have pointed to an unhealthy diet as one of the risk factors for the disease.
Consumption of ultra-processed foods has become increasingly common over the last few decades, with some specialists suggesting that nutritional changes could help to prevent the development of bowel tumours. Justin Stebbing, Oncologist and Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Angela Ruskin University, has singled out one food in particular that he says could have protective effects against aggressive cancers – and it’s a super-cheap cupboard staple that you might already be eating daily.
Professor Stebbing said a new study published in the Gut Microbes medical journal suggested that regular consumption of yoghurt can protect people against forms of colorectal cancer by “modifying the gut microbiome”.
Writing in The Conversation, the academic said adding yoghurt to your diet could be an easy way to boost gut bacteria and decrease the risk of developing cancer.
“As a consultant oncologist, many people have asked me how their risk can be reduced,” he wrote. “The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in overall health, influencing digestion, immune function and even cancer risk.
“The gut bacteria can live inside cancer itself, and in general, a healthy balance of these bacteria is thought to be essential for maintaining a strong immune system and preventing inflammation, which can contribute to cancer development.”
The kind of yogurt you choose will also impact its health benefits, Professor Stebbing added, with added sugars potentially offsetting its anti-inflammatory properties by increasing the likelihood of weight gain.
Plain, full fat Greek yoghurt appears to provide the best range of live bacteria, he said, with a study of over 150,000 participants finding that two or more servings a week were associated with a lower risk of an aggressive form of the disease called bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer.
Even without its emerging impact on cancer development, yoghurt is worth incorporating into balanced diets for its other health-giving properties. The fermented dairy product is rich in calcium, which increases bone strength and density, and studies have also suggested that it can prevent cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Research published in January also showed that increasing daily calcium intake could cut bowel cancer risk by 17%.
Despite bowel cancer being the world’s third most common cancer, many cases are preventable, Professor Stebbing stressed, with the help of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
“As research continues to uncover the complex relationships between diet, gut health and cancer risk, incorporating yoghurt into your daily routine may be a simple and beneficial step towards a healthy life,” he said.
