More on Calcium and Cancer

Tue, Aug 18, 15 by Jim Couch

National Cancer Institute

Duke University nutrition researcher

Participants were AARP members aged 50 to 71

Compared with people who got little calcium, those who consumed the most had the lowest chances of getting colon cancer.

Men who got the most calcium from food were about 30% less likely to get cancer of the esophagus, about 20% less likely to get head and neck cancer and 16% less likely to get colon cancer, when compared to men who got low amounts of calcium.

Among women, those who got the most food-based calcium were 28% less likely to get colon cancer than low-calcium women.

In men, calcium supplements only seemed to help protect against colon cancer; for women, supplements meant a lower risk for liver cancer, which is rare.

See the section on “Healthy Coffee” for HealthWise’s Calcium content.