People who enjoy a couple of servings of yoghurt every week may be less likely to suffer from some types of bowel cancer, a study suggests.
Yoghurt contains live strains of bacteria which can alter the gut microbiome and are thought to protect against many diseases.
Researchers looked for the presence of a bacterial species found in yoghurt, Bifidobacterium, in the tumour DNA of 1,121 colorectal cancer cases.
Almost a third of cases were positive for the bacteria, while 69% were negative.
Higher yoghurt intake was not linked to lover overall cancer risk, however patients who ate at least two servings per week were 20% less likely to be diagnosed with Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer – a type that occurs in the right side of the large intestine.
Study author Dr Tomotaka Ugai, of the US Mass General Brigham healthcare system and an expert in epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said: “It has long been believed that yogurt and other fermented milk products are beneficial for gastrointestinal health.
“Our new findings suggest that this protective effect may be specific for Bifidobacterium-positive tumors.”
Eating more yoghurt may reduce risk of this cancer type by altering the gut microbiome, the researchers suggested.
The team received funding from Cancer Research UK through the Cancer Grand Challenges, which is backing research into how and the microbiome contributes to disease development, progression and treatment responses.
Dr Andrew T Chan, chief of the clinical and translational epidemiology unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “This paper adds to the growing evidence that illustrates the connection between diet, the gut microbiome, and risk of colorectal cancer.
“It provides an additional avenue for us to investigate the specific role of these factors in the risk of colorectal cancer among young people.”
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. The findings were published in the journal Gut Microbes.
