Eating Fabulous

Daily Calcium Pills Reduce Fracture Risks

by ruth on August 28th, 2007

There were two phases when I regularly took Calcium supplements: during pregnancy, and just last year, as a final effort to stock up calcium in my bones, hoping it wasn’t too late yet. Without wanting to reveal my age here, I’m at that point where they say the bones no longer absorb much, or rather, not much of the calcium I take in gets deposited in the bones any longer.

However, reading that even the elderly can benefit from taking calcium pills daily indicates that mine is not yet a lost case. Based on the data from 29 studies from around the world which tracked the use and efficacy of calcium or calcium and Vitamin D supplements in 63,897 people aged 50 or over, calcium supplements apparently decrease the fracture rates and loss of bone density in older people.

“The efficacy of calcium supplements in reducing the risk of fractures later in life is comparable to more established preventative medicines such as aspirin and statins, which are widely taken to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks,” Dr Tang says.

What about the dosage?

The study calculated a regular daily dose of 1200mg of calcium with 800 international units of Vitamin D provided the best therapeutic effect.

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POSTED IN: ~Dietary Supplements, ~Healthy Aging, ~Muscles and Bones