A new study recently published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggests that eating food high in calcium may help prevent lung cancer.
Y . T akata from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee and colleagues conducted the study and found female nonsmokers who had highest intakes of calcium were 34 percent less likely to develop lung cancer, compared with those having lowest intakes.
According to the authors, calcium is implicated in carcinogenesis and has been linked to the risk of several cancers in epidemiological studies. T he current study was intended to establish the association between calcium intake and lung cancer risk, particularly among nonsmokers.
The dietary information on intakes of calcium and other minerals was obtained through a food frequency questionnaire from 71,267 female nonsmokers who were enrolled in the Shanghai Women's Study and did not have lung cancer at baseline.
During the median 11.2 year follow-up, 428 incident lung cancer cases were identified. T he median intakes of dietary calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were 441, 935 and 266 mg/day respectively.
Intakes of dietary calcium, phosphorus and the calcium to magnesium ratio were all inversely associated with lung cancer risk.
Specifically, nonsmoking women in the highest quartiles of dietary calcium intake, phosphorus intake and the ratio of calcium to magnesium were 24, 45 and 38 percent less likely to develop lung cancer, respectively, compared with those in the lowest quartiles.
However, no association was observed for dietary magnesium intake nor use of calcium or vitamin D containing supplements.
The researchers concluded "Our study provides some of the first evidence suggesting a possible role for increasing dietary calcium intake in lung cancer prevention among female nonsmokers, especially in populations with relatively low calcium intake."
Lung cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies. According to the National Cancer Institute, 226,160 men and women are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012 and the disease is expected to kill 160,340 Americans in 2012.
Tobacco smoking is one of the major causes for lung cancer. T oxic materials such as asbestos, glassfiber and nanoparticles are another major cause for the deadly disease.
Although calcium seems to be protective against lung cancer, no one should count on taking calcium supplements to reduce the risk of the disease. T he best strategy is to avoid carcinogens like asbestos, glassfiber and nanoparticles (silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide etc.) and tobacco smoke.
