The latest research from the Adventist Health Study (AHS-2) suggests that milk can raise the risk of breast cancer.

Gary E. Fraser, affiliated with the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University, California, stated “Consuming as little as 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dairy milk per day was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer of 30%”.

“By drinking up to 1 cup per day, the associated risk went up to 50%, and for those drinking 2 to 3 cups per day, the risk increased further to 70% to 80%,” he added.

The AHS-2 group is a large cohort that studies the dynamics of vegetarian dietary patterns that risk health & disease. Their current study subjects are known as the Seventh Day Adventists, who have longer life spans and lower rates of some cancers, due to their healthier lifestyles.

Some of the Adventists’ dietary characteristics include the absence of smoking and alcohol and a surplus of soy products. The goal is to observe the impact of their diet’s nutrients, especially calcium’s role in the risk of cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon.

Don Dizon, MD, director of Women’s Cancers, Lifespan Cancer Institute at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, stated that the observational design of the study can not prove that cow’s milk causes breast cancer.

“I’d want to see if the findings are replicated [by others]. Outside of a randomized trial of [cow’s] milk vs no milk or even soy, and incident breast cancers, there will never be undisputable data,” he said.

Overall, the results of this newly emerged research are inconclusive, since the World Cancer Research Fund found that dairy can decrease the risk of breast cancer