Nutrition and Cancer

		Jo Ann Carson, PhD, RD/LD Section Editor, Nutrition & Cancer Section Editor, Nutrition & Cardiovascular Disease Professor , Department of Clinical Nutrition UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Calcium intake may help reduce risk for colon cancer
Posted: Not Available
Source: UT Southwestern Health Watch
Media Contact: Scott Maier

When you drink milk or eat a slice of cheese, you may be helping fight colorectal cancer.

Recent research suggests foods high in calcium, as well as calcium supplements, help prevent polyp formation in the colon, a risk factor for colorectal cancer. The supplements also may protect against the advanced polyps most associated with the invasive form of the disease.

"Results from studies are still coming in, but indications are calcium does help prevent polyp formation," says
Dr. Clifford Simmang, director of colon and rectal surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women in the United States. More than 106,000 new cases of colon cancer and about 40,500 cases of rectal cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States. Combined, they will cause nearly 57,000 deaths.

To reduce your risk for the disease, Dr. Simmang suggests adhering to current daily dietary recommendation for calcium - 1,000 milligrams for people age 19 to 50 and 1,200 milligrams for those over 50. That's equivalent to between three to four (8 oz.) glasses of skim milk a day.

"There really is no 'best dose' to recommend," says Dr. Simmang, associate professor of GI/endocrine surgery. "Most people, though, should stay on the high side of the daily recommended dose."