Do you drink more than three glasses of milk every day? New Swedish research says it can harm the health of women.

The new study suggests a link between milk and a risk of death, cancer, and ever bone fractures.

Women that drink more than three glasses of milk every day have nearly two times the risk of death and heart disease, and are 44 percent more likely to have cancer.

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On the other hand, men saw a 10 percent increase in their overall death risk when they drink three glasses daily, as well.

Furthermore, the Swedish research published in the British Medical Journal discovered that women are also prone to bone fractures.

Karl Michaelsson, one of the study's authors and a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, said that galactose, a simple sugar found in milk, could be the reason.

"That compound might induce oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation, and that type of inflammation can affect mortality and fractures," Michaelsson added.

The study analyzed 61,433 women, ages 39 to 74, and 45,339 men, ages 45 to 79. Researchers followed them for 20 years. Over that period, 15,541 women died and 17,252 had fractures, including 4,259 hip fractures.

Researchers studied the factors involved in those events, including age, body mass index and alcohol consumption.

As for men, they were followed for 11 years. Researchers found out there was no association between mortality or fractures and milk consumption.

Fermented milk products such as cheese and yogurt contain little or no galactose and had the opposite effect. Women opting for fermented milk products are less likely to die or get bone fractures.

TagsMilk, galactose, dairy products, fermented milk products