Sip wisely—two everyday beverages may have dramatically different effects on your risk of bowel cancer. According to a recent study, one drink could slash the risk by 17%, while another might increase it by a similar amount.

The study published in Nature Communications revealed that drinking a glass of milk, a dietary staple for many, reduces the risk of the disease by nearly a fifth, while drinking a glass of wine, a beloved indulgence for many could elevate the risk by 15%. As bowel cancer rates rise globally, these findings shed light on how simple dietary choices might play a crucial role in prevention.

The findings were based on an evaluation of the dietary habits of over half a million women in the U.K, examining how various factors influenced bowel cancer risk over a follow-up period of approximately 17 years. Among the 97 dietary factors tracked, researchers observed the most significant increase in risk with alcohol consumption, while the greatest reduction in risk was associated with a daily calcium intake of around 300 mg—the equivalent of a glass of milk.

Apart from milk, six other dairy-related factors also significantly contributed to reducing the risk, suggesting that calcium is the key driver behind this protective effect.

"We have some idea on why calcium has this effect. It's suggested that calcium might protect against bowel cancer by binding to bile acids and free fatty acids to form a type of a harmless 'soap', which stops them from damaging the lining of our gut," Dr. Keren Papier, lead researcher of the study said in a news release.

However, the study has not looked into the association between taking calcium supplements and bowel cancer risk. "Dairy milk, yogurt, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium intakes were inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk, as were intakes of breakfast cereal, fruit, whole grains, carbohydrates, fiber, total sugars, folate, and vitamin C," the researchers wrote.

The study also noted that consuming red and processed meat was associated with an 8% increase in the risk of colorectal cancer for every additional 30 grams consumed per day.

"In the UK, approximately 5% of women (1 in 20) are diagnosed with colorectal cancer annually. Using the 17% relative risk reduction figure from the study, if 100 women increased calcium intake to 345 mg/day, the number of diagnoses could drop from 5 to 4—a difference of 1 fewer cases per 100 women," Dr. David Nunan, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford, who was not involved in the study said.

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