High In Calcium Can Lower Heart Disease Risk, Study Says

Higher calcium intake can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in older women. However, increasing calcium in the diet was not significantly associated with risk of stroke and fracture, the study said.

"The role of dietary calcium intake in cardiovascular disease, stroke and fracture is controversial," lead author of the study Sung Hye Kong, MD, said as per Science Daily. "Moreover, participants in previous studies were from populations that had calcium-rich diets. We aimed to evaluate whether high dietary calcium intake increases the risk of CVD, stroke and fracture in a population with low calcium intake."

Kong, who is a resident physician in the Department of Internal Medicine of Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea and his colleagues started the research in 2001 with 2,199 men and 2,074 women, who were over 50 years old and have no cardiovascular disease at all.

The researchers followed the participants for 13 years and has been analyzing their data ever since. Researchers monitored each individual through periodic food frequency questionnaires, where the participants noted down their dietary food intake during the research. Cardiovascular disease, stroke and fractures were being recorded as well.

Researchers also conducted an examination every two years. Throughout the research, the researchers also made some necessary adjustments, including the age, body mass index and the food protein and sodium intake of the participants. Eventually, the researchers found out that older women, who have higher dietary calcium intake have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study was presented at ENDO 2016 for the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. During the presentation, which was held in Boston, researchers also said that the high calcium diet did not lower the likelihood of fracture and stroke, according to the Hindustan Times.