The research, published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, reports that the benefits are increased further for pre-menopausal women and that much of the benefit may come from the calcium content of the food.

"Our data support the hypothesis that dairy products, through calcium content or a correlated component, might have a negative association with the risk of breast cancer, particularly among pre-menopausal women," wrote lead author Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot from INSERM U557 (University of Paris).

Every year, over one million women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide, with the highest incidences in the US and the Netherlands. China has the lowest incidence and mortality rate of the disease.

The French SU.VI.MAX study analysed dietary intakes of 3,627 women using five 24-hour records completed over the course of 18 months. The researchers documented 92 cases of incident breast cancer during the follow-up period.

Kesse-Guyot and co-workers report that women with the highest average dairy intake had a 45 per cent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women with the lowest average intake.

Source: foodnavigator.com