More Evidence on Bones & Ca + D

April 23, 2005

Hi folks:

This will not be news, but from the same identical page as my earlier

Cr post here is some additional evidence that the conventional wisdom

about Ca + D and bones actually does work in the real world.

" Rate of Broken Bones Could Fall

If older Americans consumed extra vitamin D along with extra calcium,

it might substantially reduce the enormous cost of treating broken

bones in the elderly--estimated to be $13.8 billion in1995. That's

the finding of a 3-year study of 389 men and women over age 65. The

group that took calcium and vitamin D supplements daily had less than

half as many broken bones during the course of the study as the group

that got a placebo--11 fractures versus 26. The supplements contained

500 milligrams of calcium and 700 International Units (IU) of vitamin

D.

This substantial reduction in fractures can't be explained by the

small changes in bone mineral density between the two groups, the

researchers concluded in the New England Journal of Medicine (vol.

337, pp.670-676). By the end of the study, the supplemented group was

only slightly ahead of the placebo group in bone mineral density,

according to total body measurements and measurements of the hip and

spine. Nonetheless, some 28 million Americans who either have

osteoporosis or are at high risk can benefit from the findings. The

study is the first to demonstrate that extra calcium and vitamin D

can reduce the effect of osteoporosis in men. And it supports

findings of a French study done on elderly nursing home residents.

During the study, participants consumed a little more than 700 mg of

calcium daily from their diets. That's at the high end of the typical

intake for men and women over 65, which falls between 500 and 700 mg.

By adding the supplements, they averaged close to the 1,200 mg now

recommended for people age 51 and over. To get that amount from

foods, a person would need to consume a well-balanced diet, including

three sources of dairy products daily.

For more information, contact Bess Dawson-, (617) 556-3064, or

S. , (617) 556-3073, Mayer USDA Human Nutrition

Research Center on Aging at Tufts, Boston, MA. "

Rodney.

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