Articles > Calcium Benefits

The most abundant mineral in the body, calcium is best known for maintaining strong bones. It also supports normal cardiovascular and muscular function. But now there is evidence that calcium may also improve weight control and even lower the risk of some cancers. Considering that only 1/3 of Americans meet their daily needs for calcium (1,000 mg for adults through age 50, and 1,200 mg for older adults), most people are not enjoying the full health benefits offered by this common mineral.

Although most organs in the body use calcium, the bones store about 99 percent of it. When our diets do not include enough calcium to satisfy the organs, the blood has to take the calcium from the bones. After a period of time, the bones lose enough calcium to thin and deteriorate them. The result of the bone loss is osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis makes the bones susceptible to fracture. There are times when a person can receive a fracture just from being bumped or coughing hard. This is often the way people find out they have osteoporosis because there are no painful symptoms to alert us to the disease.

A recent report in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that people who had less calcium in their diets were more likely to gain weight. In fact, each 300 milligrams of calcium (about a glass of milk) per day for adults was associated with about six pounds lower weight. So avoiding dairy products in an effort to lose weight may be counterproductive.

Research suggests that greater dietary calcium makes cells less likely to store fat and more likely to burn fat when calorie intake is reduced. It appears that too little calcium in the diet leads to decreased fat-burning in the cells and increased fat storage. Recommendations are for 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium intake daily, which is what we get in a balanced diet that includes three servings of dairy products or calcium-fortified foods a day. There was no benefit from further increasing the calcium intake beyond these recommended levels.

Some studies also suggest that calcium might also lower the risk of cancer. The strongest link is with colon cancer and calcium consumption. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports that people with higher calcium diets developed 35 percent fewer of some types of colon cancer than people with lower calcium consumption. It appears that increased calcium consumption causes the cells that line the colon to change into lower-risk cell types.

In another study, pre-menopausal women with higher calcium consumption developed about 30 percent less breast cancer than those who consumed very little. The effect was not observed in post-menopausal women. Other studies suggest that calcium may offer some protection against ovarian cancer. Further research is needed to confirm these links.