How Milk Affects The Colon

Consuming milk and other dairy products requires extensive digestion of their fats, carbohydrates and proteins before they can be digested. Most of the substances in milk are absorbed by the time the colon is involved in digestions, but milk and dairy products may still have an effect on the health of your colon, including lowering your risk of developing colon cancer.

Colon Physiology

The colon does not absorb many nutrients from your diet because most of the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fats from your diet are absorbed by your small intestine. The colon primarily works to absorb water and to compact fecal material. As a result, milk will not have much of a direct effect on the health of your colon, because the majority of the substances in milk, aside from water, will be absorbed before they reach the colon.

Milk and Colon Cancer

Although milk does not affect the function of your colon, the amount of milk you consume may affect your risk of developing colorectal cancer. A review of many different scientific studies, published in a 2011 issue of the "Annals of Oncology," examined the effects of milk and other dairy products on risk of colorectal cancer. This study found that increasing your milk consumption reduces your risk of developing colorectal cancer, and other dairy products had less of a protective effect.

Potential Mechanism

It is not known how milk protects you from colon cancer. A number of hypotheses for the effects of milk on colon cancer risk were suggested in a 2003 article in the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition." The high amounts of calcium and vitamin D in milk may help influence the health of colon cells. Some of the fats found in milk may also protect your colon cells from cancer. Milk may also contain proteins and other nutrients that help maintain the health of your digestive tract.

Considerations

It is not known what the optimum daily consumption of milk is for preventing colon cancer. Milk also provides many important minerals and vitamins, but too much milk, especially whole milk, may add unnecessary saturated fat and calories to your diet. Talk to your doctor before changing your consumption of milk or other dairy products to affect the health of your colon.