By now, you’ve probably read about the dramatic rise in colon cancer among young people. According to 2023 data from the American Cancer Society, diagnoses in people under 55 years accounted for 11 percent of colon cancer in 1995, but that number doubled to 20 percent in 2019. Across age groups, “colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S.” the Society states.
Researchers are in agreement that the trend is worsening, and though there are several well-supported theories as to why this is, there is not yet a definitive answer.
“Something different is clearly happening, making young people vulnerable in ways that past generations weren’t,” said Rebecca Kehm, a cancer epidemiologist at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, speaking with Columbia Magazine. “If genetic changes were driving this trend, we would expect a gradual rise over multiple generations—not the sharp increases we’re seeing within a few decades.”
One of the most widely accepted hypotheses is that the ultra-processed foods younger generations consumed as children are causing colon cancer. It’s well established that these foods can also lead to cardiovascular disease, obesity, inflammation (which can, in turn, trigger a whole host of other health issues), and Type 2 diabetes. Of course, avoiding such foods is advisable, but when it comes to your colon cancer risk, you may be able to add certain things to your diet to reduce it. To this point, a new study found that eating yogurt leads to a decreased incidence of certain types of colorectal cancer.
RELATED: 2 Common Dietary Habits Are Causing Colon Cancer in Young People, Researchers Say.
How can yogurt lower colon cancer risk?
The study, which was published in the journal Gut Microbes, consulted data showing the dietary and health habits of more than 150,000 people over three decades. The researchers from Mass General Brigham also studied 3,000 cancer cases. They concluded that “yogurt consumption over time may protect against colorectal cancer through changes in the gut microbiome,” according to a press release.
Specifically, those who ate two or more servings of yogurt per week had a 20 percent lower rate of Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer, a type of colorectal cancer that occurs in the right side of the colon and has worse survival outcomes than other types of the disease. Of the cancer cases studied, about 30 percent had detectable Bifidobacterium in their tumor tissue.
“It has long been believed that yogurt and other fermented milk products are beneficial for gastrointestinal health,” said co-senior author Tomotaka Ugai, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pathology at the Brigham and the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our new findings suggest that this protective effect may be specific for Bifidobacterium-positive tumors.”
Given that yogurt contains live strains of bacteria, researchers believe that the food may positively alter the gut microbiome, protecting against Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer.
“This paper adds to the growing evidence that illustrates the connection between diet, the gut microbiome, and risk of colorectal cancer,” concluded co-authorAndrew T. Chan, MD, chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system and co-lead for Cancer Grand Challenges team PROSPECT addressing causes of cancer in young adults. “It provides an additional avenue for us to investigate the specific role of these factors in the risk of colorectal cancer among young people.”
Yogurt’s calcium content could also grant protective effects.
Just last month, a study published in the journal Nature Communications found that consuming calcium-rich foods and beverages may protect the lining of the gut from colon cancer.
As Best Lifeexplained at the time, the results showed that consuming 300 mg per day of calcium, roughly the equivalent of one cup of 1 percent milk or 3/4 cup of plain yogurt, can reduce colorectal cancer risk by 17 percent.
The takeaway:
With colon cancer rates rising among young people, researchers are continuing to study the cause of the increased diagnoses as well as preventative measures. Regarding the latter, new research found that eating two or more servings per week of yogurt could reduce the risk of a particularly deadly type of colon cancer by 20 percent. Previous research has also linked yogurt’s high calcium content to lower colon cancer risk.