Important Press Release from my friends at the American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Calcium and Vitamin D supplements don’t prevent bone fractures and may increase the risk of kidney stones among middle-aged and elderly women, according to an extensive new study.
The results of the $18 million study, which included more than 36,000 women aged 50 to 79, sent shock waves through the medical community when it was published in the February 16, 2006, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. After all, for years physicians have made it standard practice to recommend calcium supplements to their female patients. It has prompted many to reevaluate the validity of that recommendation. Dr. Clifford J. Rosen, director of the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research and Education in Bangor, Maine, told The New York Times that he would reserve recommending supplements to his female patients over 70 because they have the greatest risk of hip fractures.
“We’ve been recommending it for everyone but it probably doesn’t work in the majority of people or the effect is small. And there is an increase in kidney stones. It is not a benign intervention.”
Participants in the seven-year study were randomly assigned to take 1000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D a day or to take placebos. The rate of hip fractures was similar in both groups.
Critics of the study believe the study was flawed in that it didn’t exclude women who consumed adequate calcium in their diets. Others suggest higher doses of calcium or vitamin D should have been used.
What many agree upon, however, is women have falsely believed that supplements were enough to protect them from osteoporosis. The common recommendation to begin taking calcium supplements at menopause has helped fuel nearly $1 billion in annual sales, making calcium the biggest seller of the multibillion-dollar dietary-supplement industry.
So, what can women do to help prevent osteoporosis as they get older? Consume plenty of calcium-rich foods, maintain a healthy weight, and regularly perform weightbearing exercise.
——————————————————————————–Source: The New England Journal of Medicine,2006; 354, 669-683
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