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Posted: Dec Thu 14, 2006 10:10 pm Post subject: Osteoporosis - Calcium Article |
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Osteoporosis - Calcium Article
B 12 - Benefits of calcium again touted
Boston (AP) - A new study offering some of the strongest evidence yet that extra calcium keeps women's bones strong after menopause should erase any doubts about the benefits of taking supplements, experts say.
In today's New England Journal of Medicine, a New Zealand team reports that calcium supplements reduced women's annual bone loss by one-third to one-half.
"Although we do not know everything we would like to know about this issue, we know enough to act now," Dr. Robert Heaney of Creighton University wrote in an accompanying editorial.
Women typically lose bone den- sity after menopause, increasing their risk of fractures. The belief has been growing for several years that taking extra calcium slows this bone loss. Skeptics remain, in part because some studies failed to show a benefit.
Heaney said women should be encouraged to take calcium and vitamin D, which also probably protects bones, "without waiting for more information."
He said women should take at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day and preferably 1,500 milligrams, and they should take 400 to 800 international units of vitamin D.
Heaney noted that even a 20 percent reduction in the rate of hip fractures would mean 40,000 to 50,000 fewer of these breaks in the United States each year. This alone would save $1.5 billion to $2 billion in medical bills and prevent much suffering.
The latest study was directed by Dr. Ian Reid of the University of Auckland and conducted on 122 women who had gone through menopause at least three years earlier.
The women were getting about 750 milligrams of calcium a day, which is about 50 percent more than U.S. Women typically consume. Half were randomly chosen to take an extra 1,000 milligrams daily, while the rest got dummy pills.
Women in the comparison group lost about 1 percent of their bone a year. Overall, this loss was reduced by 43 percent in the calcium users.
"There now seems to be little question about what to do," said Dr. Robert Katz of Rush Medical College in Chicago.
Editors Notes:
The following is an excerpt from an article by Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr., D.C.
"Many minerals require proper stomach acid to be absorbed optimally - examples are magnesium, calcium and zinc. In fact, people with hypochlorhydria (and the older you are the more likely this is to be a problem) may be at risk for developing certain mineral deficiencies.
Since minerals are important not only for body structure (as in bones and teeth) but also for enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase) and hormones (such as insulin), deficiencies can lead to major health problems."
Sugar also depletes calcium in the body, and conversely lack of calcium increases craving for sugar.
Phoenix Gazette Friday, February 19, 1993
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-Georgiana Duncan |
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