These foods seem to be particularly effective against other types of intestinal cancer and digestive system, according to a study of U.S. almost half a million volunteers.

The researchers tracked the health and eating habits of more than 490,000 people up to eight years, and women who take mostly calcium, a mineral that normally associated with the health of the bones, took 23 percent less likely to have developed the disease at the level of the intestine, stomach and other types of cancer digestive, that those who ate less.

For men, high levels of calcium reduce the risk of these cancers by 16 percent, according to the report of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

These men and women consumed more than 1500 milligrams of calcium a day, or more than twice the level recommended by the Agency for Food Standards, as an example a portion of 100 g of cheddar cheese provides approximately 720mg calcium.

The researchers, from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said: “The calcium has shown to reduce the abnormal growth and induce a better functionality between normal cells and the gastrointestinal tract”.