Increasing calcium from diet and supplements lowers colorectal cancer risk

Research conducted by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and School of Public Health has shown that women who consume more than 800 milligrams of calcium each day may reduce their risk of developing colorectal cancer by as much as 46 percent.

The study, published in the January 2005 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, followed over 45,000 women for an average of 8.5 years. The researchers found that the women who consumed at least 800 mg of calcium each day had a 24 percent reduction of colorectal cancer risk regardless of whether the calcium intake was from diet or supplement. However, in the women simultaneously consuming high levels of calcium totaling at least 1200 mg a day from both diet and supplements, the colorectal cancer risk dropped to 46 percent.