Although the bones hoard 99 percent of a person's calcium, that remaining 1 percent circulates through the far reaches of the body. It helps nerves tell muscles when to contract, thus preventing cramps. It smooths the flow of impulses between nerves and the brain. Calcium also aids digestion, by contributing to the production of saliva and enzymes, and heals wounds through its role in clotting. The placebo group saw just a 30 percent decrease.
Doctors also suspect a link between low calcium levels and high blood pressure.
Argentine researchers have found that women might influence their children's risk of high blood pressure in the future by taking calcium during pregnancy. In 1997 they studied 591 women who took 2,000 mg of calcium a day, starting in their 20th week of pregnancy. More research needs to be done before recommendations are made. Perhaps the most dramatic news links calcium to colon-cancer prevention. Two major studies have found that 1,200 mg of calcium a day can reduce the growth of colon polyps, from which an estimated 90 percent of colon cancers develop.