The preventive effects of indigenous and exogenesis milk and milk products ingredients on cancers

Cancer is a leading global cause of death and disability in the world. Observational evidence suggests that approximately 30–40% of cancer cases are potentially preventable via modification of nutritional factors and food consumption patterns. Milk and milk products are recognized as functional foods, suggesting their use has a direct and significant effect on health outcomes and their consumption correlates with a reduced risk of numerous cancers. The preventive effects of milk and dairy products on risk of cancers and the role of indigenous and exogenesis ingredients have been discussed in this review article. Pubmed, Sciencedirect, Springer and Google scholar databases were searched in order to achieve the desired articles. Cellular, animal as well as human studies that have been conducted from 1980 till 2012 were recruited in this investigation. Various studies have shown that dairy consumption is associated to reduced risk of cancer due to the presence of compounds such as vitamin D, linoleic acid, calcium, proteins such as casein, whey, lactoferrin, which are potential anti-cancer properties. Also, the uses of functional dairy products or fermented products have contributed to the escalation of this property. There are ample convincing evidence through thousands of years of consumption of dairy products that shows their definite impact on health, health maintenance, survival and longevity. As an overall conclusion, normal consumption of dairy foods products with high hygienic standards should be encouraged as part of a varied and nutritious diet as they are essential to maintain good bone and dental health to counter osteoporosis, major cardiovascular disease risk factors, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndromes, as well as some cancers