Seniors who take vitamin D and calcium supplements may live longer

Vitamin D & Calcium… The saga continues.

Recently, I told you about a new recommendation for seniors. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force determined that RDA doses of D and calcium are too low to prevent fractures in the elderly.

So if you up the dosage, is the problem solved?

“Nope,” says the task force. Higher calcium intake produces a slight increase in the risk of kidney stones.

“Just a minute,” says Dr. Spreen. Not only is the correlation very weak, but once you add a magnesium supplement and it becomes even weaker.

But wait… We’re not done yet. There’s even more reason to up your calcium and D…

Dr. Spreen sent me details of a new study from Denmark. Researchers looked at eight studies. Each study included about 1,000 elderly men and women. Subjects were given D supplements, calcium supplements, D and calcium combined, or placebo.

Over an average of three years, those who took calcium and D together had a lower rate of death.

You’ve got to like THAT trend.

Stay tuned… I’m sure the mainstream isn’t done shooting holes in this. But we aren’t done uncovering the full benefits.