A new study suggests that getting more calcium in your diet may help you live longer.

According to Reuters, a study published in American Journal of Epidemiology found that men who consumed the most calcium through their diets were 25 percent less likely to die over the next decade than their peers who ingested the least calcium from food. None of the men involved with the study took calcium supplements.

Researchers followed 23,000 Swedish men who were 45 to 79 years old for a period of 10 years.

They found that the top calcium consumers had a 25 percent lower risk of dying from any cause and a 23 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease compared to men who had the least amount of calcium in their diet.

Participants with the highest dietary intake of calcium got an average of nearly 2,000 milligrams per day, which is more than the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of 1,000 milligrams daily for men aged 19 to 50 and 1,200 milligrams daily for men over 50 years old.

Researchers say calcium may influence mortality by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar levels.

Dietary sources of calcium include dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt as well as broccoli, spinach, garlic, asparagus, romaine lettuce, cabbage and green beans.