Study Finds Soymilk Is a Hit with Schoolchildren

In a study published this month in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Cancer Project researchers found that when offered soymilk as a choice in the school lunch line, almost a quarter of the children chose the calcium-rich, nondairy beverage over dairy milk.

The study also found that offering soymilk boosts the number of students who select some kind of calcium-rich beverage in the lunch line and sharply increases the average calcium consumption per gram of saturated fat consumed from calcium-rich beverages.

The majority of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans are lactose intolerant. Enriched soymilk has no lactose and little or no saturated fat, but it has as much calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D as dairy milk. Dairy milk is the single largest source of saturated fat—a leading contributor to cancer risk and coronary disease—in children's diets, according to a National Cancer Institute study.

There may be other long-term health benefits to avoiding dairy products. In February, a report from the Harvard School of Public Health found a higher risk of ovarian cancer among women with increased intakes of lactose, the primary sugar in dairy milk. The analysis found a 19 percent increase in risk for those consuming more than 30 grams of lactose per day, or the equivalent of three servings of milk.

Dairy products have been linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer, apparently due to their effects on a man’s hormones. The men in two major Harvard studies who steered clear of dairy cut their risk by as much as 25 percent to 40 percent.

Genkinger JM, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, et al. Dairy products and ovarian cancer: a pooled analysis of 12 cohort studies. Cancer Epidemol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15:364-72.
Chan JM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, et al. Dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the Physicians’ Health Study. Presentation, American Association for Cancer Research, San Francisco, April 2000.

The Cancer Project News, Spring 2006

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