More Calcium, Less Chance of Colon Cancer

Studying the patterns of the participants of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, the National Cancer institute found that older men and women who consumed large amounts of dairy foods and calcium were at reduced risk of developing digestive cancers, especially colorectal cancer.

In the New York Times article, Dr. Yikyung Park, author of the story was quoted as saying that the key finding was that higher total calcium intake is associated with a decreased risk of digestive system cancers.

The study found that men who consumer about 1,500 milligrams daily, faced a 16% lower risk of developing cancers of the digestive system than those who consumed only 500 milligrams daily.

For women those with the highest dairy and calcium intake had a 23% reduced risk of colon cancer compared to women with the lowest intakes of calcium.

The article also noted that Vitamin D, which is often consumed with calcium, may in fact be the real hero in its role in cancer prevention. More studies to come.