Calcium may cut colorectal cancer risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Calcium is vital for bone health, and may be important for reducing colorectal cancer risk, too, according to a U.S. study published on Monday.

Researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute tracked 293,907 men and 198,903 women and found that those with the highest calcium intake from dairy and other foods and from calcium supplements had the lowest colorectal cancer rates.

Yikyung Park of the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, said women in the highest fifth of calcium consumption had a 28 percent lower risk for colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest fifth of calcium intake.

For men, those in the highest fifth had a 21 percent lower risk for colorectal cancer than those with the lower intake.

The researchers followed the people, who were between 50 and 71 years old, for seven years. The people in the study reported extensively on what they ate and what dietary supplements they took.

"For colorectal cancer, both calcium from diet and from supplements reduced the risk of colorectal cancer," Park, whose findings appear in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, said in a telephone interview.

Foods with lots of calcium include diary products such as milk and yogurt and leafy green vegetables. Calcium is important in preventing osteoporosis.

The researchers said calcium may reduce abnormal growth in cells in the gastrointestinal tract and may help reduce damage to the mucous membrane in the large intestine.

By Will Dunham