Calcium does a body good.

Benefits of Calcium

Bones not only provide structural support for muscles and organs, they store vital minerals. So it's not surprising that bone health is one of the top health concerns for women, the prime candidates for osteoporosis - a systematic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. Osteoporosis affects 20 to 25 million people, 80 percent of whom are women. The prevalence of osteoporosis increases with age and is found in 40 percent of women 80 years old or more. Women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the years following menopause, putting them at greater risk for osteoporosis. Failure to meet calcium requirements during childhood can impede maximum skeletal growth and bone mineralization, which can increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life. (Learn more about children's health issues)

Calcium products are some of the most popular supplements on the market. As a result, competition is stiff, and a number of marketers hype their products as having superior absorption characteristics. Claiming that a particular calcium source is far superior to all others has little scientific support.

Fractional absorption is the scientific term for the percent of a calcium dose that gets absorbed. In comparing a variety of calcium forms and using similar methodologies, fractional absorption is actually quite similar among calcium sources.

Differences in absorption are generally offset by differences in calcium content. Calcium carbonate, for example, is high in calcium concentration, but slightly less well absorbed than citrate. A calcium supplement should also contain adequate amounts of vitamin K, a nutrient supported by new research as necessary for modifying osteocalcin, a bone protein, so it can properly bind minerals and hold them in the bone matrix.

Perhaps more important is how a calcium products is made. The process should start with calcium sources that are laboratory tested to ensure purity. The product development scientists should then formulate tablets according to U.S. Pharmacopoeia standards. If the tablets are compressed too tightly, or they don't contain the right proportions of ingredients that promote disintegration and dissolution, they will pass through the digestive tract improperly or partially absorbed. Quality assurance processes to ensure the formulation is properly assimilated should be in place.

While calcium sources may have similar bioavailability characteristics, there are significant differences in the quality of calcium formulations. Calcium citrate is often touted as the best calcium source for those with achlorhydria (too little stomach acid), a condition that may affect as many as 30% of people 60 years of age and older. Citrate seems to work best if you take your calcium
on an empty stomach, but research shows that other calcium sources, like carbonate, work just as well when taken with meals.

Some people are under the impression that calcium can't be consumed with food because it might interact with, for example, caffeine in coffee or tea, and thereby reduce calcium absorption. However, research shows that the decrease in calcium absorption due to this kind of interaction is on the order of a scant 3 milligrams.

To maximize absorption, calcium should be taken in doses of 500 mg or less. Thus, optimum calcium absorption can be achieved by spreading calcium intake throughout the day.

As important as calcium is, it is not the only bone-building nutrient. Vitamin D is extremely important for calcium absorption, but it is vitamin D already in the body and circulating in the bloodstream that promotes calcium absorption. This means that vitamin D does not necessarily need to be in the calcium supplement itself. It should be somewhere in the daily supplement regimen, especially for older people.

New research shows that postmenopausal women have a difficult time maintaining optimal vitamin D levels in the blood over the winter months, even if they are getting the typical 400 IU daily. For this reason, new recommendations call for seniors to get 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily to maintain adequate blood vitamin D levels.

New Information: You might have read about some nutrition studies recently in the newspaper. I am posting this information in hopes it will help clarify the issues brought up by the studies. The following information was put out by Dr.Jamie McManus, Chairman, Medical Affairs, Health Sciences & Education, Shaklee Corporation.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study on calcium and vitamin D was published last week, with the lead investigator on the study leading his interviews with the most negative findings of the study and seemingly ignoring the positive results. While the study is not flawed, there are two factors that affected the ultimate findings. One, the population was too young to demonstrate a reduction in hip fractures and two, the study did not last long enough to show the reduction in colon cancer risk (study was 7 years and colon cancer takes 10-20 years to materialize). The study did show a significant increase in hip bone density (this is good!) and also a non-significant (but present) reduction in hip fracture risk. So, again, this is a limited study and does not lessen the importance of Vitamin D as well as calcium in supporting bone health, reducing risk of hip fracture (other studies have shown this-future studies can continue to define) as well as in the myriad of other functional roles these essential nutrints play in the body. It is well established that people do not take in adequate amounts of calcium, and there is growing concern that many populations, especially the elderly and those who live in northern latitudes are deficient in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D supplementation may be associated with elevations in mood. In a double-blind trial, healthy people were given 400–800 IU per day of vitamin D3, or no vitamin D3, for five days during late winter. Results showed that vitamin D3 significantly enhanced positive mood and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative mood compared to a placebo. In another double-blind trial, people without depression took 600 IU of vitamin D along with 1,000 mg of calcium, or a placebo, twice daily for four weeks. Compared to the placebo, combined vitamin D and calcium supplementation produced significant elevations in mood that persisted at least one week after supplementation was discontinued.

There are some common misconceptions about calcium and bone loss as it relates to women. In most cases, calcium alone doesn't completely stop postmenopausal bone loss, but it does have an important role in slowing bone loss and decreasing risk of osteoporotic fracture. Much of the stimulus for bone loss, especially early in menopause, is due to a lack of the hormone, estrogen. In most cases, calcium supplementation doesn't completely prevent bone loss because calcium is a mineral rather than a hormone. As such, calcium can help overcome nutrient deficiency, but not hormone deficiency.

Interestingly, the stimulus for bone loss late in menopause is thought to be a gradual elevation in parathyroid hormone level or PTH. The good news is that supplemental calcium and adequate vitamin D seems to help decrease the age-related rise in PTH. PTH levels seem to spike at night so it may be wise to consume some of your calcium at night before you retire to bed to help keep PTH
levels low and perhaps further protect your bones.

Bone is constantly undergoing a remodeling cycle where mineral is first removed from sections of bone and then those sections are re-mineralized. Unfortunately, as we get older we tend to lose slightly more bone than we
replace at each remodeling cycle.

Calcium supplementation slows down the rate of the remodeling cycle and this actually helps to preserve existing bone. The catch is that you have to stay on calcium to maintain the bone benefits of supplementation. If you go off of your calcium, after a year or two you lose the extra bone protection that calcium provides.

In summary, take 1000 to 1500 mg of calcium daily. Take your calcium with meals, in doses of 500 mg or less, and make sure that one of those calcium doses is taken before bed. Also, we need extra vitamin D as we get older and to stay on calcium supplementation to maintain the full bone benefits it provides.

Who Will Benefit From Calcium Supplementation?

All women and men

• For healthy bones*
  
• For healthy colon*
  
• For healthy blood pressure*
• Experiencing depression*

Women

• To minimize PMS symptoms*

Children & Teens

• For building peak bone mass*

Read an informational pamphlet about this premium bone health supplement

Buy nutrition to convert calcium into bone!

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.