Photo: Food & Wine / Getty Images Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer deaths, as reported by the American Cancer Society . The number of cases among individuals under 55 has also doubled in recent years, with diagnoses increasing by nearly 20% . Given this trend, you might be wondering how to lower your risk, and a recent study published in Gut Microbes suggests that yogurt could be the key.
The 2025 study, conducted by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mass General Brigham, analyzed health data and dietary information from more than 151,000 people who participated in two long-term studies in the United States from 1976 and 1986 until the present day. Researchers surveyed the participants every two years about their yogurt intake and measured the amount of Bifidobacterium (a type of bacteria found in yogurt) in the tumor tissue of 3,079 people within the sample population diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
While yogurt did not directly lower the risk for all types of colorectal cancer, those who ate two or more servings of yogurt per week had a lower risk of developing “Bifidobacterium-positive proximal colon cancer,” a type of colorectal cancer that occurs in the right side of the colon and has one of the lowest survival rates.
But what are the exact mechanisms at play? And how can you reap the benefits of yogurt? Here’s what doctors want you to know. Does yogurt really reduce the risk of colon cancer?
This particular study did not specifically look at the impact of yogurt lowering the risk of colorectal cancer. Rather, it found a link between the consumption of yogurt and lower incidences of certain types of colorectal cancer in the sample population studied, says Anne Mongiu , MD, PhD, a colorectal surgeon at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital and co-director of the colorectal cancer program at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery.
However, yogurt does promote overall gut health by regulating the immune system and reducing inflammation, Mongiu says. “Yogurt contains many different strains […]
A New Study Says Yogurt Can Help Reduce Your Risk of Colon Cancer
