Lee Swanson Research Update

Taken Properly, Calcium and Vitamin D Can Cut the Risk of Developing Bone Fractures

September 2007

After analyzing 29 randomized trials, researchers in Australia find that supplementing with high levels of calcium and vitamin D can reduce the chances of people over 50 sustaining bone fractures.

Published in The Lancet, the study concentrated on a large group of subjects, including nearly 64,000 people who were almost 68 years old, on average. Researchers concluded that people aged 50 and older who take calcium supplements are 12% less likely to fracture a bone than their peers who don't take the pills. That protection rate doubles when calcium supplements are taken correctly, according to researchers, who included Benjamin Tang, MD, of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at Australia's University of Western Sydney.

For best therapeutic results, Tang's research team recommends minimum doses of 1,200 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D.

Study participants were followed for 3.5 years, on average. During that time, people who took calcium supplements were not only less likely to fracture their bones, they also slightly reduced the rate of bone loss from their hips and spines, compared with people who didn't take calcium supplements.

People aged 70 and older, those who didn't get much calcium from their diets, thin people and those at high risk of bone fractures were particularly likely to benefit from taking calcium supplements.

The Lancet 370:657-666, 2007

New to Natural Health?
Tools
Customer Service