Does drinking organic milk reduce the risk of breast cancer?

Question

Or does drinking non-organic milk increase ones chances of contracting breast cancer. I have read somewhere that cows are given hormones to increase milk production and that this hormone in turn is passed through the milk into the humans who consume it. This affects the breast tissue in humans ans adds to the rising incidence of breast cancer in both males and females. Does anyone know if this is true?

Answer 1

yes - less growth hormones in the milk

Answer 2

No food or drink has been proven to increase or reduce the risk of breast or any other cancer; this includes milk.

I am vegan and had been for several years when I was diagnosed -so milk consumption had nothing to do with the development of my breast cancer.

If dairy  was, as some people now argue (notably Jane Plant in her book Your Life in Your Hands), the main cause of breast cancer, then I guess I'd still have two b*****s.

Answer 3

Apart from adding it to tea & coffee, why would any adult drink milk?

PS.

Yeah, fair enough; I do have milk with cereal. I thought you meant just to drink. No offence intended.

Answer 4

It's not proven, but there a logic to it. Any impurities tend to be retained in fat, and the milk producing glands are very fatty. Milk and milk products are very fatty. They have been able to measure pesticides and drugs in non-organic milk, though levels tend to be low.

Personally, as a breast cancer survivor, I only use organic dairy products. I'm not a milk drinker, but I do enjoy a bit of cheese now and then.

Answer 5

Michel Montignac is the Frenchman who first publicised the Low GI diet (celebs such as Kylie Minogue go on this) , and when I interviewed him recently he said he was now working on milk.

He wondered why so many people had allergies to dairy products.  He was looking into use of hormonal drugs and antibiotics on cattle, and what this might cause.

So watch his research - Google to see what is happening.  

Verite R

Answer 6

I am 8 years out of Breast Cancer - My doctors recommended that I avoid any estrogens - this includes the Bovine Hormone rBST - so look for a label on the milk that says "from cows not treated with rBST" -

there are both commercial and local brands.  The "organic" part doesn't matter as much as the rBST component.

Answer 7

Cows are given a hormone to increase the amount of milk they produce called bovine somatotropin (BST) (naturally occurring cow hormone). This hormone is banned in the UK and Europe however it is used in the US.

Research has shown no link between this hormone and breast cancer in humans. The reason for the EU ban is one of animal welfare.

The human version of BST is called is HST. BST cannot act on the HST receptor and is therefore unlikely to have any affects in humans. However cows given BST have higher levels of IGF-1 in their milk. Humans and cows share this hormone and recent research suggests a possible link between high IGF-1 levels and breast cancer and colon cancer. The source of high IGF-1 in humans with breast cancer is not known - it could be from BST fed cows or from some other source.

As far as I know organic cows are not given hormones etc but are allowed to graze real grass and roam freely. If you are still concerned about this, try and avoid non-organic American milk products if you can. However, as I've said the link has as yet not been fully proven.

Answer 8

I grew up on a farm and my dad never gave the cows any growth hormones.  Our milk was organic.  Of course, farmers never did that when I was a child.  All the farmers only gave the cows clover and hay.  That being said, I also never drank milk because I knew where it came from.  My brother and I had the "honor" of washing the cow's utters before milking.  I have breast cancer.  Had a mastectomy almost 2 yrs ago and I am now facing another mastectomy.  Still don't drink milk.  I don't believe the milk has anything to do with it.  We all have the cancer gene.  Some get the cancer, other genes remain dormant.  It's all part of genetics.  I do believe however, that our environment has become so bad that these genes are becoming active more now than years before.  We have so many pollutants in the air, etc.  Look at the tomatoes.  Who would think you would get sick eating store bought tomatoes,  A natural product but because of poor hygeine on the part of the handler, you get sick.  So what do you trust?  Every day it seems someone on TV is saying this or that can cause cancer.  I don't know what to believe anymore.  That's why I grow my own vegetables and I don't touch dairy products, but I have breast cancer.  Who knows anymore.

Answer 9

I haven't heard that before, and I usually stay up to date on the benefits of buying organic. Organic milk is important, because cows are given a lot more that growth hormones.  Even after the milk is taken from the cow, more is added to make it last "extra long" and junk.  In my opinion, the closer to it's natural state the better.  I wouldn't put those hormones past causing cancers.