A University of Minnesota Cancer Center study found that women consuming more than 800 milligrams of calcium each day reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 26 to 46 percent. A 26 percent reduction in risk of colorectal cancer occurred regardless of whether the calcium intake was from diet or supplement. Among women who consumed high levels of calcium from both diet and supplements, the risk reduction was almost double that observed for calcium from either source by itself. The results of the study appear in this month’s Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal. Andrew Flood, Ph.D., epidemiologist with the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and School of Public Health, led the study in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
