‘Calcium Is Forever,’ Study Concludes : Health: Women of all ages, not just the young, can use the mineral to lower their risk of developing osteoporosis.
Post-menopausal women who consume the recommended dietary allowance of calcium are less likely to suffer osteoporosis or fragile bone disease, which affects an estimated 18 million American women, according to a UCSD study released today.
Although experts have long understood the importance of calcium in women’s diet, some maintain that calcium is only necessary for younger women. This study, however, confirms that women of all ages should consume calcium to significantly lower their risk of osteoporosis, a bone disorder.
“Calcium is forever,” said Paul Saltman, a UCSD professor of biology and an author of the study. “You’ve got to keep taking it forever, and if you don’t you are putting yourself at risk. I don’t care how you get it--food or supplements--you have got to get it.”
In the study, the calcium intake of 131 San Diego women, ages 52 to 92, was calculated by using a questionnaire about their diets. These women were scanned with an imaging device that measures bone density of the lumbar spine region.
The scans showed that women who consumed an average of 878 milligrams of calcium daily had greater than 5% more bone mass than women who consumed an average of 402 milligrams daily, according to the study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
That extra 5% of bone mass can make a big difference, experts say. In previously published reports, experts have reported that an extra 5% bone density can reduce fracture risk by 50%.
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) suggests that adults 25 and older consume 800 milligrams a day. But this guideline is often ignored. In the study, for instance, 80% of the women ate less than this recommended amount, which is equivalent to three daily servings of calcium-rich food.
One-third of all post menopausal women suffer broken bones, Saltman estimated. And yet, a number of these fractures could be avoided if women beefed up their calcium intake.
Sources of calcium include: milk (whole or skim), calcium-fortified juices, yogurt, broccoli and cheese. There are also supplements available without prescription, as well as antacids such as Tums that provide calcium. But some nutritionists have criticized supplements, saying that a recent study of these over-the-counter products showed that half went through the body without breaking down and releasing the calcium.
Because of what some nutritionists view as the unreliability of calcium supplements, a number of experts say it’s better to obtain calcium from the diet. But, Saltman says, this is a debate he avoids.
“I am the Gertrude Stein of calcium--a calcium is a calcium is a calcium,” said Saltman, paraphrasing the poet’s line about a rose. “I don’t care where it comes from--milk, supplements. If you want to eat 5 pounds of broccoli, if you want to take Tums--whatever is your pleasure, but don’t be stupid.”
The surgeon general and the National Osteoporosis Foundation both suggest that women increase their calcium intake to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
But, inside the scientific community, a controversy has raged over what age group needs to be concerned about calcium intake. Some have maintained that calcium need only be consumed by those under age 30. But Saltman’s study confirms what a number of experts have begun to believe--that all women ought to be concerned about their calcium intake.
“There has been a lot of debate about this. . . . Maybe we can put the debate behind us,” said Dr. Robert P. Heaney, professor of internal medicine at Creighton University in Nebraska. “Osteoporosis has many roots--nutrition is one. But nutrition is the one we know how to deal with. We simply need to get this country on to a better calcium intake.”
Heaney pointed out that certain additives are now placed in food and water because of federal, state, or municipal laws. Fluoride, for instance, is put in water to prevent dental decay, and iron is added to white flour, also as a supplement.
“I don’t see that kind of legal approach to calcium-fortified foods--we are in a different society, and we can’t get consensus,” Heaney said.
Instead, Heaney believes that more and more companies will see calcium as a marketing tool and include calcium in their food products. Already, calcium-fortified juices have taken their place on grocery shelves. And Heaney hopes other products will follow, perhaps after more nudging from consumers anxious to improve their calcium intake.
Saltman also believes that a calcium-rich diet would dramatically improve the health of Americans, men and women.
“We’ve shown you don’t have to look for magic bullets, you don’t have to clone a gene,” he said. “We’re not talking about a drug, we are talking about eating the proper food.”
The study was funded by the National Institute of Aging and the Procter & Gamble Co. Saltman worked on the study with UCSD professors Dr. Mark Bracker of the department of community and family medicine, Dr. David Sartoris of the radiology department and Linda Strause of the biology department. The UCSD teams were also joined by two Proctor & Gamble employees, Mark B. Andon and Kenneth T. Smith.
