On Healthy Living

From the people who brought us the low fat doesn’t help story last week comes the news today that calcium and vitamin D supplements might not be as beneficial as once thought for preventing bone fractures in women, and they’re not at all helpful for preventing colon cancer.

The study of 36,282 women ages 50 and older, found that taking 1,000 miligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D daily produced a one percent increase in hip bone density and seemed to produce a 12 percent reduction in hip fractures, though some say the change chould be due to chance.

When smaller groups in the study were looked at, women who took their supplements at least 80 percent of the time over seven years were found to have better protection against fractures, as were women over 60. But statisticians warn that looking at a small group within a big sample often doesn’t give you accurate numbers.

So what should people do if they are currently taking calcium? I take a calcium supplement that is about 60 percent of the recommended daily amount, because I worry that I don’t get enough calcium in my diet. I’m not going to stop; then again, I’m much younger than 50 so this study says nothing to me.

If you’re older, taking supplements diligently still looks like it can be helpful. And if you know you don’t get enough calcium (1,200 miligrams for older women) or vitamin D (600 international units) from your diet (or the sun, in the case of vitamin D), supplementing is fine. Know that you could be increasing your risk of kidney stones, however.

Of course you could also try to gt more calcium and D from your diet instead. Dairy products, fortified cereals and juices, breads and vegetables like broccoli are great sources of calcium, while you can get much more vitamin D than you need each day by being in the sunlight (without sunscreen) or by eating fortified foods.

What this study tells us is that supplements might not be the way to prevent disease. That doesn’t mean it isn’t important to get enough calcium, though, and if you can’t do that through your diet, supplements can help.

(Sources: Washington Post New York Times)

Sarah White wrote this on February 16th, 2006 and filed it under Healthy Living, Diet & Exercise, Healthy Eating, Women's Health, Health Foods, Health & Aging |