According to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, women with higher intake of calcium appear to have a lower risk of cancer overall. Of further interest to readers, both men and women with high calcium intakes have lower risks of colorectal cancer and other cancers of the digestive system.
Dr. Yikyung Park of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues analyzed data from 293,907 men and 198,903 women who participated in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Participants took a food frequency questionnaire when they enrolled in the study between 1995 and 1996, reporting how much and how often they consumed dairy and a wide variety of other foods and whether they took supplements. Their records were then linked with state cancer registries to identify new cases of cancer through 2003.
Over an average of 7 years of follow-up, 36,965 cancer cases were identified in men and 16,605 in women. In women, cancer risk was lowered with intake of up to 1,300 milligrams per day, after which no further risk reduction was observed.
“In both men and women, dairy food and calcium intakes were inversely associated with cancers of the digestive system,” the authors write. The one-fifth of men who consumed the most calcium through food and supplements (about 1,530 milligrams per day) had a 16 percent lower risk of these types of cancer than the one-fifth who consumed the least (526 milligrams per day). For women, those in the top one-fifth of calcium consumption (1,881 milligrams per day) had a 23 percent lower risk than those in the bottom one-fifth (494 milligrams per day). The decreased risk was particularly pronounced for colorectal cancer.
Calcium is known to benefit bone health, according to background information in the article. Because of this, the Institute of Medicine recommends 1,200 milligrams of calcium for adults age 50 and older, and the 2005 dietary guidelines for Americans recommend 3 cups per day of low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
Dave
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3 comments:
It's great to know yet another benefit of calcium, and another way to help keep cancer out of your life. However, the "Dairy as main source of calcium" is what brings me to comment. It could be suggested to specify that "organic" or non-hormone treated milks (such as specified cow, or goat milk) be used to raise calcium levels without the damaging hormones and antibiotics found in treated cows.
Have you considered also, a plant-sourced calcium? The Sesame Seed is the highest source of calcium per gram. (Sesame milk can also be made with it...with mild difficulty) The other plant-source of calcium that even beats cow milk (by a factor of 6!) Is the Chia Seed. The Chia Seed can also be made to taste like whatever you want, and will assist you in calcium absorbtion by providing Vitamin D and trace mineral Magnesium.
I agree completely with you Chia! What a wonderful gift the Chia seed is. Do a search on this site and you'll find my own homage to the wonderful little Chia seed,
Thanks for the reminder. Dave
Don't you have any concern that high calcium would increase the risk of arterial and aortic calcification? There is some evidence of that.
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