Reconsidering Calcium
(Page 3 of 4)
December 2005/January 2006
By Walter C. Willett, M.D.
Saturated fat. An 8-ounce glass of whole milk contains nearly 5 grams of saturated fat; 20 grams is the recommended daily limit. Drinking three glasses a day would be the equivalent of eating 12 strips of bacon. If you enjoy milk, low-fat and skim are better choices than whole milk.
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Extra calories. Three glasses of whole milk a day add 450 calories to your diet about one-quarter of your daily intake allowance. Low-fat milk, at 330 calories, adds a bit fewer, but still a lot if the main goal is to get more calcium.
Prostate cancer. A diet high in dairy products has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer. In nine separate studies, the strongest and most consistent dietary factor linked with prostate cancer was high consumption of milk or dairy products. In the largest of these??the Health Professionals Follow-up Study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health??men who drank two or more glasses of milk a day were almost twice as likely to develop advanced or metastatic (spreading) prostate cancer as those who didnt drink milk at all. To be on the safe side, men should try to keep their daily calcium intake below 1,000 milligrams.
Ovarian cancer. About 15 years ago, Harvard Medical School researchers suggested that high levels of galactose, a simple sugar released by the digestion of lactose in milk, could damage the ovary and possibly lead to ovarian cancer. Since then a number of studies have tested this hypothesis. While the evidence isnt conclusive, I think that a positive link between galactose and ovarian cancer shows up too many times to ignore the possibility that it may be harmful.
Build Healthier Bones
How much calcium we need is one of the major unsettled issues in human nutrition. It is clear that active, healthy people who get only low to moderate amounts of calcium can have low rates of bone fractures. Whether getting more calcium will further lower this risk is an open question. A reasonable strategy for women is to try to get an extra 500 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day in middle age, in addition to their normal diet. (The typical diet provides about 300 milligrams, without dairy.) Calcium supplements with vitamin D are the best way to do this. Low-fat dairy is an alternative for those who really like milk. For men, the balance of benefits and risks tips against a lot of extra calcium. There are three things almost everyone can do to reduce the chances of developing osteoporosis:
Be as physically active as possible. Cells inside bone sense physical strain or stress and orchestrate a silent symphony of activity to make your bones stronger and more dense. The more healthy stress on bones, the more bone is built.
