6 Reasons To Get More Calcium

You've read it a hundred times: Get plenty of calcium to ward off bone-thinning osteoporosis later in life. Unfortunately, if you're like most women, you drink milk sporadically (if at all) and take supplements only when you remember to. Which means you probably don't come close to consuming the recommended 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day (1,200 to 1,500 milligrams if you're pregnant or nursing). And a stronger, healthier skeleton isn't all you're missing out on. Research shows that this mighty miner can help ease PMS pains, lower blood pressure, even fight cancer.

Here are six reasons to boost your calcium intake -- and some simple suggestions for working more of it into your diet every day.

1. Combat Colon Cancer

Here's a surprise: Although we tend to think of colon cancer as a men's disease, it is actually one of the three most common types of cancer among women. A recent study shows that a diet rich in calcium may help prevent the disease. Without adequate calcium, experts believe, bile and fatty acids -- natural byproducts of digestion -- can irritate the colon, causing a constant state of cell repair.

"The more cells regenerate, the more they're exposed to toxic agents that can cause them to become cancerous," explains the study's lead researcher, Peter R. Holt, M.D., professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Calcium binds with these insidious acids, preventing them from doing their damage.

2. Prevent PMS

With more calcium in your diet, you may suffer less from the mood swings, headaches, irritability and anxiety associated with PMS. A major study recently showed that a daily dose of 1,200 milligrams of calcium can reduce those annoying periodic signs by as much as 50 percent. "Premenstrual symptoms indicate that a woman has an underlying calcium deficiency," says study researcher Susan Thys-Jacobs, M.D., director of the Metabolic Bone Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.

Getting ample calcium will also help prevent debilitating bone loss later in life, a particular risk for PMS sufferers.

3. Head Off High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. It's also a formidable threat if it develops during pregnancy, a condition called (CQ) preeclampsia.

Calcium from dairy products, however, in combination with a balanced, low-fat diet, may help keep blood pressure in check. In a major government study called DASH ("Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension"), calcium was one of a group of nutrients found to lower blood pressure, says Eva Obarzanek, Ph.D., a researcher with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

In fact, out of the DASH study came the official DASH diet. This eating plan, which is widely dispensed by physicians in the United States to patients with high blood pressure and others, recommends two to three servings of low-fat or nonfat calcium-rich dairy foods a day, such as nonfat milk, nonfat yogurt and low-fat cheese.

4. Avoid Kidney Stones

If you've ever had a kidney stone, you know those minute collections of minerals that form in the kidneys can cause excruciating pain when they pass through the urinary tract and out of the body.

Most kidney stones are made from calcium and oxalate, a salt-like substance found in such foods as beets, spinach, rhubarb and nuts. Your body also makes its own steady oxalate supply. Normally, calcium and oxalate remain dissolved and are excreted in the urine. But stones can form when calcium and oxalate become too concentrated in the urine, forming crystals -- not unlike sugar settling to the bottom of your coffee cup.

A 12-year Harvard University study involving more than 90,000 women, however, found that those with the highest dietary calcium intake had the lowest risk of kidney stones. The theory? Researchers believe that calcium binds with oxalate during digestion and is excreted from the body rather than getting absorbed, preventing stones from forming.

A caveat: The same study also showed that taking calcium supplements without food may actually, in some cases, increase the likelihood that kidney stones will form.

5. Fight Breast Cancer

Ample calcium may also help reduce your risk of breast cancer, especially if you're a milk drinker. A Finnish study involving more than 4,600 women concluded that those who drank roughly three 8-ounce glasses of milk a day had a lower risk of breast cancer than those who didn't drink as much. Researchers suspect that calcium, as well as other components in milk, such as conjugated linoleic acid, may have potent breast-cancer- fighting properties.

6. Curb Weight Gain

Research suggests that a calcium-rich diet -- especially one that includes dairy sources -- not only helps young women keep weight in check but may reduce overall levels of body fat. A small study of 18- to 31-year-old women recently found that those who consumed no more than 1,900 calories but at least 780 milligrams of calcium a day either had no increase in weight or actually dropped pounds over a two-year period. Women with calcium-poor diets, on the other hand, gained weight on the same calorie intake.

Lead researcher Dorothy Teegarden, Ph.D., an assistant professor of food and nutrition at Purdue University in Indiana, suspects that "calcium depresses certain hormones, which consequently improves the body's ability to break down fat in cells and slow fat production."