Does eating lots of full-fat dairy after breast cancer make survival harder?
High- and low-fat dairy intake, recurrence, and mortality after breast cancer diagnosis.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Total dairy intake showed no link to breast cancer death—only high-fat dairy did.
Most people assume 'dairy is bad' for cancer. But this study proves it’s not dairy—it’s the fat. This flips the script: dairy isn’t the enemy, full-fat dairy is.
Practical Takeaways
Switch from whole milk, full-fat cheese, and ice cream to skim milk, low-fat yogurt, and dairy-free alternatives like oat or almond milk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Total dairy intake showed no link to breast cancer death—only high-fat dairy did.
Most people assume 'dairy is bad' for cancer. But this study proves it’s not dairy—it’s the fat. This flips the script: dairy isn’t the enemy, full-fat dairy is.
Practical Takeaways
Switch from whole milk, full-fat cheese, and ice cream to skim milk, low-fat yogurt, and dairy-free alternatives like oat or almond milk.
Publication
Journal
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Year
2013
Authors
Candyce H. Kroenke, M. Kwan, C. Sweeney, A. Castillo, B. Caan
Related Content
Claims (10)
If you've had early-stage breast cancer and eat a lot of full-fat dairy like whole milk or cheese every day, you might be more likely to die from breast cancer or other causes later on, compared to people who eat very little of it.
Eating dairy overall doesn’t seem to make breast cancer come back or kill more women from breast cancer, but it might be linked to dying from other causes — and that’s probably because the bad stuff (like full-fat dairy) is hiding in the average.
Eating lots of full-fat dairy—whether it’s cheese, butter, or ice cream—seems to be linked to a higher risk of dying, no matter which one you pick, so it’s probably the fat itself that’s the problem, not the food it’s in.
If you’ve had breast cancer and eat a lot of full-fat dairy like whole milk or cheese every day, you might be more likely to die from breast cancer than if you eat only a little — possibly because the fat in dairy affects hormones that help cancer grow.
If you’ve had early-stage breast cancer, switching from full-fat dairy like whole milk or cheese to low-fat versions won’t make your cancer come back or shorten your life — so you don’t need to stress about this change.