1er October 2003 – The lucky ones who will forget the harshness of winter on the southern beaches will not want to forget their swimsuits, their sunscreen and … their calcium supplements.
This is because high doses of calcium could prevent the bacteria e.coli to multiply in the intestine, which would therefore offer appreciable protection against this unpleasant diarrhea which confines tourists to their hotel rooms.
Dutch researchers1 asked 32 healthy men to consume either dairy products fortified with calcium (for a daily dose of 1100 mg of calcium) or a placebo (for a daily dose of 60 mg). After ten days, all subjects were infected with the virus e.coli. On the first day, all suffered from diarrhea, but the following day the participants who ate the fortified products were fully recovered, while the others continued to suffer for several days.
Along with this study, in order to see if food-source calcium and calcium supplements had a different effect, the researchers gave rats supplements before infecting them with the virus. e.coli. The protective effect obtained was identical.
The researchers call their results “encouraging” and note that calcium may also offer some protection against other bacteria.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to WebMD; September 4, 2003.
1. Bovee-Oudenhoven IM, Lettink-Wissink ML, Van Doesburg W, Witteman BJ, Van Der Meer R. Diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection of humans is inhibited by dietary calcium. Gastroenterology 2003 Aug; 125 (2): 469-76.
