If this latest study is to be believed then eating yogurt daily can reduce your breast cancer risk

To say that breast cancer awareness is the need of the hour is an understatement. Then be it doing self-breast examination every month or annual mammograms, regular screening is the key to early prevention.

But did you know that a healthy lifestyle can also reduce your risk of breast cancer? Maintaining your weight, eating lots of fruits and veggies, and keeping your alcohol consumption to a minimum can go a long way in preventing breast cancer. And now, if a study is to be believed, eating yogurt can also help in this endeavour.

Researchers say that yogurt reduces breast cancer risk
Researchers, including those from Lancaster University in the UK say that the probiotic supplement may help replace harmful inflammation-causing bacteria with beneficial microbes present in the food.

According to the study, published in the journal Medical Hypothesis, bacteria-induced inflammation in breast ducts disturbs undeveloped cells, or stem cells, waiting to mature into specialised ones and may be a cause of breast cancer.

“There is a simple, inexpensive potential preventive remedy, which is for women to consume natural yogurt on a daily basis,” said study co-author Auday Marwaha from Lancaster University.

Also Read

Breast cancer may cause a million deaths a year by 2040! Is obesity a risk factor for breast cancer? Read Now

According to the research team, the lactose fermenting beneficial bacteria, or microflora, commonly found in yogurt, is similar to those found in the breasts of mothers who have breastfed.

Also read: Here is how you can give yourself monthly breast self-examination

“We now know that breast milk is not sterile and that lactation alters the microflora of the breast,” said Rachael Rigby, study co-author from Lancaster University.

“Lactose fermenting bacteria are commonly found in milk and are likely to occupy the breast ducts of women during lactation and for an unknown period after lactation,” she added.

The researchers believe these bacteria in the breast may be protective since earlier studies had reported that each year of breastfeeding reduced the risk of breast cancer by nearly five per cent.

A similar effect seen in yogurt, the scientists said, may be due to the displacement of harmful bacteria by beneficial bacteria.