Calcium Cuts PMS Effects, Study Finds
Daily doses of calcium can reduce the physical and psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome by at least half, according to new research that points toward a low-cost, simple remedy for a condition that affects millions of women.
In a carefully controlled study of 497 women, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, daily supplements of 1,200 milligrams of calcium reduced the incidence and severity of generalized aches and pains by 54%, psychological symptoms by 45%, food cravings by 54% and water retention by 36%, according to researchers from St. Lukes--Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.
American Women Lack Calcium
The research is the latest in a series that has linked calcium deficiencies to PMS. The findings suggest that the 40% of American women who suffer mild or moderate PMS can self-medicate with chewable calcium tablets, such as the Tums E-X used in the study.
“Now, before I bring out the ‘big gun’ treatments of prescription drug therapy, I will recommend to my patients that they try calcium as a first line of therapy,” said Dr. Michael A. Thomas of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“At best, they’ll get relief from their PMS, and if not, they’ll be getting a nutrient that their body needs to build strong bones.”
The study was sponsored by SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, the manufacturer of Tums, but was reviewed by a panel of outside experts before publication in the obstetrical journal.
Several previous small studies had hinted that calcium could reduce symptoms of PMS, but this is “the strongest study published to date,” said Dr. Robert Heaney of the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha. “It highlights the fact that most women are not getting enough calcium in their diet.”
Federal guidelines suggest that women should consume at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, while teenagers require 1,300 milligrams and women over age 50 require 1,200. But U.S. Department of Agriculture studies have shown that three-quarters of women don’t reach those levels and more than 50% don’t even consume half the recommended amount.
Some scientists have suspected for at least 10 years that calcium levels and PMS are linked. Early studies showed that women who suffer from PMS are more likely to develop osteoporosis (thinning of their bones) as they age.
A couple of studies involving a relative handful of women also suggested that calcium supplements could reduce PMS symptoms.
Those studies “were provocative, but everybody was skeptical because of the small sample sizes,” said nutritionist Connie M. Weaver of Purdue University, a nationally recognized expert on calcium issues. “This one, they did it right.”
In the study, Dr. Susan Thys-Jacobs of St. Lukes and colleagues at 12 medical centers enrolled 497 women with a demonstrated history of PMS. Half were given four 300-milligram Tums tablets each day for three months and half were given a placebo. Neither doctors nor patients knew who was receiving the calcium supplements.
The results were dramatic, with the women receiving the supplements showing demonstrable improvements in all areas.
“This tells us something,” Thys-Jacobs said. “The symptoms are a signal that the woman is not getting enough calcium.”
“This lends a lot more credence to the idea that calcium deficiencies are linked to PMS,” said nutritionist James G. Penland of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Grand Forks, N.D., who had conducted one of the earlier studies.
The fact that it was done at many centers and among women from a variety of ethnic groups is particularly important, he added.
Quick Improvements Reported in Test
Lydia Sixto is convinced of calcium’s value. A 40-year-old nurse in New York City, Sixto started menstruating at age 10 and has always had severe PMS. Her symptoms included back pain, severe migraines, bloating, cramps, leg swelling, nausea, vomiting, shakes and chills, as well as an intense craving for sweets.
“Every month, I prayed for menopause to come because mother always told me it would go away then,” she said.
She got very little calcium in her diet. “I was not a milk drinker, not a yogurt eater, and I hate vegetables,” she added.
Sixto suspected within a month that she was getting the calcium pills. “I knew something was different. The migraines disappeared, the backaches were less severe. I gradually felt much better and happier, with fewer mood swings.”
She has been taking the supplements for more than a year now, and said she has lost 46 pounds because her craving for sweets has been reduced. She still has mild cramps and bloating, “but nothing that I can’t function with.”
Thys-Jacobs and other experts cautioned that the first stage in treatment should always be changes in diet. She recommends eating several servings of low-fat dairy products each day, leafy vegetables, and calcium-fortified foods, such as orange juice and cereals. Such diets have many other benefits as well, reducing hypertension and high cholesterol levels.
If that doesn’t work, she added, then try supplements. They work best when they are taken in conjunction with meals because they are absorbed better then.
At the recommended levels, there is no danger from the supplements. But she noted that at levels over 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams per day, there is a risk of calcium deposits in soft tissue and the formation of kidney stones.
