Study Finds New Use for Calcium in Women: Protection Against Colorectal Cancer
Submitted by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, January 28, 2005, abstracted from "Calcium from Diet and Supplements is Associated With Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Prospective Cohort of Women” in the January 2005 issue of the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention
Osteoporosis is a condition that currently affects more than 8 million women and 2 million men, with another 34 million Americans at risk in the United States.1 To deal with osteoporosis, calcium supplementation has become one of the most popular methods of both prevention and treatment(1, 2) since calcium is the predominant component in bone.
Now a new study3 suggests that calcium may also help prevent another potentially serious condition in women: colorectal cancer.
As the second leading cause of death from cancer (behind lung cancer) in the United States, colorectal cancer claims more than 55,000 Americans each year. While 140,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, it is estimated that one in four Americans (80 to 90 million Americans) are considered at risk because of age or other factors. Colorectal cancer, contrary to what most people believe, affects both men and women equally.
In the study, researchers selected 45,354 women without colon cancer from the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project conducted by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society between 1973 and 1980. The women, who averaged 62 years of age, were followed for an average of 8.5 years and put into groups based on information they provided about their diet and lifestyle on a questionnaire.4
Researchers found that dietary calcium intake greater than 400 mg per day produced a “marked reduction” of colorectal cancer risk in risk while colorectal cancer risk was not reduced until supplemental calcium exceeded 800 mg per day. When calcium intake was obtained from both dietary and supplemental calcium, the risk of colorectal cancer was reduced more than if calcium came from only one source.
When trying explain calcium’s mode of action in reducing colorectal cancer, one prevailing theory concerns calcium’s ability to neutralize secondary bile acids that are produced during the digestion of fat and are highly irritating to the cells in the lining of the colon.5 Unfortunately, research has yet to conclusively prove this theory.
The researchers went on to conclude that this study “provides further evidence to support what is now an increasing body of literature indicating that calcium intake will reduce risk of colorectal cancer.”
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or by visiting his website at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com.
Reference:
1 National Osteoporosis Foundation “Osteoporosis Facts” www.nof.org
2 Ullom-Minnich, P. (1999). "Prevention of osteoporosis and fractures." Am Fam Physician 60(1): 194-202
3 Meunier, P. J. (1999). "Calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K in the prevention of fractures due to osteoporosis." Osteoporos Int 9 Suppl 2: S48-52
4 Block G, Hartman AM, Dresser CM, Carroll MD, Gannon J, Gardner L. A data-based approach to diet questionnaire design and testing. Am J Epidemiol 1986;124:453–69
5 Newmark HL, Wargovich MJ, Bruce WR. Colon cancer and dietary fat, phosphate, and calcium: a hypothesis. J Natl Cancer Inst 1984;72:1323–5
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