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The benefits of calcium for building and maintaining bones are well known. Now a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that women whose total intakes of calcium — up to 1,300 mg/day — also appear to have a lower overall risk of cancer. For both men and women with high calcium intakes, the risk of colorectal cancer and other cancers of the digestive system are reduced.
Part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AARP Diet and Health Study, this large investigation followed 293,907 men and 198,903 women, ages 50 to 71. Upon enrollment, participants were given a food frequency questionnaire to determine how much and how often they consumed dairy, along with other calcium-rich foods, and whether they took supplements.
After seven years of follow-up, the investigators out of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, found that women with a calcium intake from a combination of food and supplements of up to 1,300 mg/day had a decreased risk of total cancer. The study also determined that women who were in the top one-fifth of calcium consumption — in this case 1,881 mg/day from food and supplements — showed a 23 percent lower risk for digestive types of cancer, even lower for colorectal cancer, when compared to those in the bottom fifth total calcium consumption of some 494 mg/day. Men in the upper tier of calcium consumption through diet and supplements (about 1,530 mg/day) had a 16 percent lower risk of digestive types of cancer compared to those who consumed the least amount of calcium.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. Recognized for its role in building and maintaining strong, healthy bones and teeth, calcium is also essential for a variety of body processes, from hormone secretion to the communication of messages through the nervous system. And because it enables muscles to contract and expand, calcium ensures that your heart and blood vessels function normally.
The calcium-cancer hypothesis, however, had been inconsistent in previous observational studies. “This means that there may be benefits to calcium supplementation that go beyond bone health,” stated Andrew Shao (Ph.D.), Vice President, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, for the Council for Responsible Nutrition in Washington. “But more research is needed to help explain the observed differences in gender and to better assess calcium’s effects on non-digestive cancers.
In a nod to overall healthier lifestyles, the study also indicated that the women who had the highest calcium intakes and lower risk for cancer also had lower body mass indexes and a greater level of physical activity, plus they were less likely to smoke or drink alcohol.
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