New calcium and vitamin D guidelines for fracture prevention are ludicrous

Last year, I told you about a proposed recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Just days ago they turned that proposal into a “formal” recommendation.

This confirms my suspicion: They’re out of their minds.

The recommendation is in two parts. First, they say there’s not enough evidence to recommend the RDA of calcium and vitamin D to prevent bone fracture.

Second, they ALSO say that doses higher than the RDA might not help either.

You know… If you call yourself a “Task Force,” and you announce “formal guidelines,” you better come up with something better than, “Meh. Who knows?”

That’s kind of a tipoff that you haven’t finished your task.

But I think their problems are obvious.

To start with, they overreached. They examined more than 100 studies. That’s ridiculous. There’s just no way there are 100+ calcium and vitamin D studies that are large, long, well designed, and that use the best nutrient forms at effective doses.

So, of course they came up with muddy results.

But they did provide a footnote, which turns out to be pretty big. They note that their recommendations don’t apply to osteoporosis patients or those with vitamin D deficiencies.

Well nearly EVERYONE is D deficient. So that settles the D question. Dr. Spreen recommends 5,000 IU of D3 daily — more than 12 times the RDA.

As for calcium, Dr. Spreen noticed that the PSTF team specifically referred to calcium carbonate.

Dr. Spreen: “Calcium carbonate is about as poorly absorbed as any form of calcium on the market. Calcium citrate is better. Also, humans don’t find calcium in nature without magnesium. I give calcium 2:1 with magnesium.”

And I’ve also told you about studies that have shown the huge importance of vitamin K in maintaining bone health.

With typical bureaucratic cluelessness, the PSTF took a narrow view of fracture prevention. Too few nutrients. Too many studies.

Way too much confusion.

Sources:
“No Vitamin D and Calcium for Older Bones” Anahad O’Connor, The New York Times, 2/25/13, nytimes.com