You might be used to thinking of dairy as bad because you were told for decades that fat is evil. Fat is not wholly evil, and though it’s calorie-dense there are tons of dairy options that are lower in fat and quite healthy for you. For example, dairy which is high in calcium could be protective for your colon. And then there are the lactic acid-producing bacteria that give yogurt and other fermented dairy products their characteristic tang seem to inhibit cancer formation through a variety of mechanisms.

These factors all seem to help protect your colon cells from becoming cancerous.

Calcium also appears to exert some protective effects by regulating vitamin D levels. Breast cancer risk seems to go down with higher calcium intake for this reason.