London, Nov 6 (IANS): People with lactose intolerance are at a lower risk of suffering from lung, breast and ovarian cancers, says a new research.

Lactose intolerance refers to the inability of adults to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and to a lesser extent dairy products.

"We found that people with lactose intolerance, who typically consume low amounts of milk and other dairy products, have a reduced risk of lung, breast and ovarian cancers", says Jianguang Ji, associate professor at the Lund University in Sweden.

"The risk of cancer was not reduced in relatives of people with lactose intolerance, which indicates that protection against these cancers is related to diet. However, it would be wrong to conclude that milk is a risk factor for these cancers", Jianguang Ji added.

The researchers investigated whether low consumption of milk and other dairy products protects lactose-intolerant people against breast and ovarian cancers.

The study involved identified 22,788 individuals with lactose intolerance.

The risks of lung cancer, breast cancer and ovarian cancer were significantly lower in people with lactose intolerance compared with people without lactose intolerance, irrespective of country of birth and gender.