What is the role of calcium for the body? Calcium is a mineral that is necessary for basic blood vessels, muscles, nerve function, signaling from cell to cell, and hormone release. The body stores calcium especially in bone tissue. Natural calcium is present in some foods added from the food eaten.
The main source of calcium in a healthy diet is from edible food and dietary supplements. About a third of calcium comes from milk and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.
Vegetable calcium sources include cabbage, kale, and broccoli. Spinach contains calcium but is hardly absorbed properly by the body. Foods with added calcium include fruit juice, tofu, and cereals.
Most scientists have studied and examined the effects of calcium on the risk of prostate cancer.
Calcium Test In The Treatment Of Prostate Cancer
In a 2011 study, patients with prostate cancer cells were treated with cow's milk, almond milk, soy milk, casein, or lactose.
- The growth of prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) is stimulated when treated with cow's milk.
- Treatment with soy milk does not affect the growth of prostate cancer cells.
- Treatment with almond milk therapy slows the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Study of calcium in animal test
Some rat test animals suffering from prostate cancer are fed a diet low in calcium and a diet high in calcium. The growth of prostate cancer was found to be similar in mice given either low or high in calcium.
Dietary vitamin D and calcium were also studied in mice injected with prostate cancer cells (including high calcium diet plus vitamin D and normal non-vitamin D calcium).
The mice that received normal non-vitamin D calcium had more prostate cancer growth than other dietary mice.
Studies are also being applied from humans in different parts of the world to find out if there is a connection between dairy products, calcium, and the risk of prostate cancer.
Population study
Population studies are intended to look for risk factors and ways to control disease in large groups of people.
Population studies of dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk have shown mixed results. These studies may be difficult to interpret because other major nutrients in dairy products, such as fat, and factors such as age and body mass index have not been taken into account.
Overall, studies show that high calcium intake may be associated with an increased risk of prostate and metastatic cancer compared with lower calcium counts.
More studies are needed about the effects of calcium or milk products on the risk of prostate cancer and how these effects develop in the body.
Clinical trials of calcium to prevent prostate cancer
In a randomized clinical trial reported in 2005, men were given calcium (1200 mg / day) and placebo for 4 years and followed for 12 years.
During the first 6 years of the study, there were fewer cases of prostate cancer in the calcium group compared with the placebo group.
After 10 years, it seems, there was no significant difference in the number of prostate cancers in the calcium group compared with the placebo group.
Reviews from many studies are combined
Reviews from many joint studies show mixed findings on whether consuming calcium and dairy products affect the risk of prostate cancer:
A th 2005 review of many studies found a possible association between an increased risk of prostate cancer and a diet high in dairy and calcium products.
A 2008 review of 45 observational studies found no association between consuming dairy products and the risk of prostate cancer.
A cohort study review published between 1996 and 2006 found that consuming milk and dairy products increased the risk of prostate cancer.
Reviews in th 2013 for the US Preventive Services Task Force found that taking Vitamin D and / or calcium supplements did not show overall effects on cancer rates or deaths from cancer, including prostate cancer.
A 2015 review of 32 cohort studies found that consuming high amounts of milk, low-fat milk, cheese, calcium, and calcium milk may increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Conclusion
Of all analyzes, calcium and non-milk calcium supplements have not or are not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Calcium supplements are associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer, further research is still needed.
Is calcium approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment in the United States? Currently, the FDA has not approved the use of calcium as a treatment for cancer or other medical conditions.
Calcium supplements are products intended to be added to the diet. It is not categorized as medicine and is not intended to treat, prevent, or cure prostate disease.
Taking natural vegetable calcium sources is an appropriate decision for alternative treatments of prostate cancer, including calcium from cabbage, kale, broccoli, soy milk, and almond milk.