Calcium

Now that we've launched into the new weight-loss year, a new word of warning appears. You may need to increase your calcium while losing weight.Obese women lost 2 to 3 percent of their bone density while losing weight, even though they were consuming 800 milligrams of calcium (the current RDA) per day, according to a report by Environmental Nutrition newsletter.Because the research was done only on obese women, we do not know whether bone loss happens when thinner women lose weight. But it's likely.

Like so many of my women colleagues and friends, I seem to get just a tiny bit shorter every year. The villain in this is clearly osteoporosis. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, more than 50 percent of all women over 45 have osteoporosis of the spine. Virtually all women over 80 have at least some osteoporosis. With women now living to an average age of 79 years, most of us can anticipate osteoporosis as one problem of aging.This can become particularly alarming when one considers that the most common cause of fractures for women over 80 is weakened and brittle bone caused by osteoporosis.

Q. Whenever I read about calcium, only women's needs are addressed. Little comment is made about whether men should be concerned about lack of calcium as they age, though they drink much less milk. My husband thinks that if he takes calcium supplements, he might get kidney stones. Is there any truth to this? A. Although men are less susceptible to osteoporosis than women, they are not immune. Adequate calcium intake is just as important for men. Your husband is correct that calcium pills might increase the risk of kidney stones, but calcium from food actually seems to protect against this painful condition.

I have just begun to have menopausal symptoms and don't know what to do about calcium. Two years ago I passed a kidney stone, which my doctor told me contained calcium oxalate, and it seems logical to me to lower my use of calcium. On the other hand, calcium supplements are recommended to prevent osteoporosis after menopause.What do you recommend?Calcium oxalate stones are the most common type of kidney stones. Because calcium oxalate is not very soluble, formation of these stones is promoted by high concentrations of calcium and/or oxalate in the urine.

Q. Since a woman is supposed to have 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day, why don't the calcium tablets contain 500 mg so she can take two a day if she gets little calcium in her diet? By taking two 600 mg calcium pills, she gets too much. Isn't it dangerous? Also, does a multivitamin have any calcium? If she takes one of these a day with calcium tablets, is there a risk of getting too much calcium?A. A wide variety of calcium pills are available without prescription. While it is true that some contain 600 mg of calcium, tablets with 250 or 500 mg calcium can also be purchased.

A friend swears by coral calcium that she orders through the mail. She says it cures her aches and pains. What makes coral calcium different from the inexpensive calcium I buy in the grocery story? Coral calcium comes from dead coral from the seabed, while the inexpensive calcium you buy might come from oyster shells or limestone deposits. Some marketers are promoting coral calcium as a cure-all for many chronic and serious conditions. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are beginning to clamp down on unsubstantiated claims.

`TC Bones make their greatest gains in calcium storage beginning at age 11. They get increasingly stronger and peak by age 20, although important smaller gains can be made through the 30s.While it's all downhill from there, adequate calcium can minimize bone loss and reduce osteoporosis risk in later life.But how much calcium do you really need to have the strongest possible bones at every age?In June, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a consensus conference on Optimal Calcium Intake.

New dietary guidelines say Americans should consume more calcium every day to help prevent osteoporosis, the bone-wasting condition that affects 25 million Americans -- primarily women.Almost everyone over the age of 8 needs to consume about a serving more of calcium -- roughly 300 milligrams -- every day, according to guidelines issued yesterday by the Institute of Medicine, a health policy organization that is part of the National Academy of Sciences.In most instances, the changes add up to roughly a glass of milk, an ounce of hard cheese, one cup of calcium-fortified juice or one slice of cheese pizza a day.Children ages 9 to 19 should consume 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day, the report says.

A WALK DOWN the beverage aisle of any supermarket tells a sad tale about the future of American bones.The shelves are stacked with canned, bottled and packaged fruit drinks and juices, flavored soda, mineral and plain waters and packets of artificial drink mixes. The frozen food bins hold more ,, of the same. The dairy counter pales by comparison.And the young people who are the primary consumers of calcium-poor non-dairy beverages may be on their way to building inadequate bones.Even toddlers these days may not be getting enough bone-building calcium because many mothers, worried about allergies and mucus formation in response to milk, fill their babies' bottles and cups with apple juice instead of calcium-rich milk.

Defying years of conventional medical wisdom, researchers report that calcium and vitamin D pills regularly consumed by millions of woman provide limited protection from broken bones. The supplements seemed to reduce the risk of hip fractures in women over 60 who faithfully took them. But the pills did not reduce spine or wrist fractures, and increased the risk of kidney stones, researchers said. The study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, raises questions about the benefits of taking supplements to prevent osteoporosis, a condition marked by weakened bones and a heightened risk of fractures that commonly afflicts women after menopause.