Calcium May Battle High Blood Pressure

Calcium not only helps fight osteoporosis, it also may battle high blood pressure.

Among some of the most recent data:

* The Nurses’ Health Study, an ongoing project at Harvard University involving more than 58,000 women, demonstrated a link between adequate calcium intake and a lower risk of hypertension.

* A 1991 study of almost 1,200 women in Argentina found that calcium supplements reduced the rate of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.

* Investigators at Boston University studied 79 children ages 3 to 5 and discovered that the higher their calcium intake, the lower their blood pressure.

The Recommended Daily Allowance for calcium is 800 milligrams a day.