Calcium reduces heart disease risk
Results from the Iowa Women's Health Study suggest that calcium, but not milk products or vitamin D, reduce the risk of death due to ischemic heart disease.
The study involved 34 486 postmenopausal Iowa women 55 to 69 years old and without a history of ischemic heart disease who completed a dietary questionnaire in 1986. Through 1994, there were 387 deaths due to ischemic heart disease.
Analysis of the results showed that women with a high intake of calcium had a 30 to 35 per cent reduction in risk of death due to the disease. Women who took a daily calcium supplement with a dose between 1 and 500 mg had a 44 per cent reduced risk of death. Women whose dietary intake of calcium was high but who did not take supplements had a 46 per cent reduced risk. Intake of milk products did not appear to affect risk.
