People who consume more Calcium and dairy foods have a lower risk of colon cancer, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health and AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons).
Investigators collected diet and other information on more than 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 . After seven years, the risk of colorectal cancer was about 20 percent lower in men who consumed the most Calcium from food and supplements (roughly 1,500 milligrams a day) than in men who consumed the least (roughly 500 mg a day).
The risk was about 30 percent lower in women who consumed the most Calcium (roughly 1,900 mg a day) than in women who consumed the least (roughly 500 mg a day). Colorectal cancer risk was also lower in men or women who ate the most dairy foods.
Dairy wasn’t linked to a higher risk of ovarian cancer, and calcium wasn’t linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer. Some earlier studies had suggested both.
What to do: Shoot for 1,000 mg a day of calcium if you’re 50 or younger and 1,200 mg a day if you’re over 50. Assume that you’re getting roughly 300 mg from each serving of milk, cheese, Yogurt, or calcium-fortified Orange Juice. Take a supplement to get the rest.
Given the earlier studies linking high calcium intake to an increased risk of prostate cancer, men who want to play it safe should try to get no more than 1,200 mg of calcium a day. Check labels on foods like breakfast cereals and energy Bars, which may have added calcium.
Arch. Intern. Med. 169: 391, 2009.
Date: June 11, 2009
Tags: Calcium, Cancer, Energy, Food, Information, prostate, Women
