Men who chug milk or chew numerous antacid tablets containing calcium may want to assess their total calcium intake. Consuming large amounts of calcium daily may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, although not all studies have supported this conclusion. Higher milk intake, which contains large amounts of calcium, has been relatively consistently associated with prostate cancer, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. If you have prostate cancer or have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer, talk with your doctor about safe limits of calcium in your diet.
Statistics
Prostate cancer, the most common type of cancer in men after skin cancer, affects one in six men during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society, meaning that the risk of developing prostate cancer is high for men whether they consume large amounts of calcium or not. Around one man in 26 will die from prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer. Men over age 50 need 1,200 mg of calcium per day to maintain bone strength, since men as well as women have an increased risk of osteoporosis as they age.
Positive Studies
A Harvard School of Public Health study reported in the February 2006 issue of "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention" examined data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study of 47,750 male health professionals. In this study, calcium intake over 1,500 mg per day was associated with a higher risk of advanced and fatal prostate cancers, but not with localized tumors. An American Cancer Society study reported in the July 2003 issue of the same publication found a modestly increased risk of prostate cancer in men consuming 2,000 mg of calcium per day.
Negative Studies
A National Cancer Institute study reported in the December 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Epidemiology" examined data from the National Institutes of Health Diet and Health Study. This study did not find a correlation between calcium or dairy intake and total cases of prostate cancer and non-advanced prostate cancer, although a weak but not statistically significant association was found between total calcium intake and advanced prostate cancer.
Recommendations
Calcium plays a role in keeping bones strong and preventing osteoporosis, but may also increase the risk of prostate cancer. Many critics of the current recommendation of 1,200 mg per day for men over age 50, such as Professor Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, suggest that men keep their daily calcium intake closer to 700 mg, the current level recommended in Great Britain. Talk with your doctor about his recommendations for calcium intake.
References
- American Cancer Society; What Are the Key Statistics About Prostate Cancer?; June 2011
- National Cancer Institute; Calcium and Cancer Prevention:; May 2009
- "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention"; A Prospective Study of Calcium Intake and Incident and Fatal Prostate Cancer; E. Giovannucci, et al; February 2006
- "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention"; Calcium, Dairy Products, and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Prospective Cohort of United States Men;C. Rodriguez, et al; July 2003
- "American Journal of Epidemiology"; Calcium, Dairy Foods, and Risk of Incident and Fatal Prostate Cancer: The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study; Y. Park, et al; December 2007
- Harvard School of Public Health; What You Need to Know About Calcium; April 2003
