Calcium Lowers Digestive Cancer Rates

A new study from the National Cancer Institute found that incidence of digestive cancer decreased in women who took up to 1,300 mg/d of calcium and in men who took 1,500 mg/day. The study followed closed to 300,000 men and 200,000 women who kept a record of their diets. After an average of seven years, 36,965 new cancer cases were reported among the men and 16,605 among the women. The men consuming the most calcium through food and supplements had a 16-percent reduced risk of digestive cancer compared to those consuming the least calcium. For women, a similar effect was observed. The decrease in risk was most pronounced when it came to colorectal cancer. No effect of calcium was found for breast, prostate or any other kind of cancer.