The Health Benefits of Calcium

Calcium is known for helping to keep bones strong. New research points to two other possible health benefits: weight control and lower risk of some cancers. In information provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington DC:

University of Tennessee research found in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition and elsewhere suggests that greater dietary calcium makes cells less likely to store fat and more likely to burn fat when calorie intake is reduced. In a complex chain of events, too little calcium in the diet brings cell changes that lead to decreased fat-burning and increased fat storage. In two studies reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, people with higher calcium consumption developed 35% fewer cases of a certain type of colon cancer than people with low-calcium diets. In a study in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, increased calcium consumption caused the cells that line the colon, in the area where cancer often begins, to change into lower-risk cell types. In studies of cancer risk, calcium was protective at levels of 700 to 900 mg a day. Studies of weight control found benefits from 1000 to 1500 mg daily. Dairy products (low-fat please) are known to be rich in calcium. Other sources are broccoli, salmon, eggs and greens.

The Bottom Line

The calcium studies also noted that meal plans that were lower in fat and lower in calories were necessary for weight loss. Once again, we are presented with the inescapable fact that a healthy lifestyle leads to healthy lives. How willing are you to do what needs to be done to be as healthy as possible? Or, like most, will you simply wait until something goes wrong before you make that change?