Panoramic View

Panoramic View

Healthy women who want to take active steps to promote bone health might have a few questions after reading this headline above a NutraIngredients-USA article: “Dietary Calcium Better for Bones than Supplements – Study”

So what does this mean? Are calcium supplements ineffective? Should women forget about supplements and just drink a gallon of milk every day?

A closer look at the article – and the study – reveals useful answers (along with insights from our nutrition physician, HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D.).

Headline grabber

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine (Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases) in St. Louis interviewed nearly 170 healthy postmenopausal women to determine their average daily intake of calcium from supplemental and dietary sources. The Washington team also measured bone mineral density (BMD) in the spine and femoral neck (the section of the femur that’s most vulnerable to fracture) of each subject.

• When the data was analyzed, each woman was assigned to one of three groups:
• Diet Group: At least 70 percent of calcium from food sources – about 830 mg per day
• Supplemental Group: At least 70 percent of calcium from dietary supplements – about 1,030 mg per day
• Diet Plus Supplement Group: About the same amounts of calcium from supplements as from food sources – about 1,620 mg per day

Results showed that subjects in the Diet Group had higher BMD in both the spine and femoral neck compared to subjects in the Supplement Group. But here’s the most revealing comment from the NutraIngredients-USA article: “Women in the ‘diet plus supplement group’ had the highest bone mineral density.”

Okay, let’s take a look at the article title again: “Dietary Calcium Better for Bones than Supplements – Study” Does that seem exactly right to you? Wouldn’t something like, “Dietary Calcium Plus Supplements Best for Bones – Study” be a more accurate way to lead readers to the true value of this study?

The thing I like about this study is that it shows how dietary supplements help promote good health by doing what they quite literally are supposed to do, supplement the nutrients in food.

Perfecting the mix

Calcium is so well known as the primary nutrient associated with bone health that many people wrongly believe that calcium-rich foods and a calcium supplement are all that’s needed for proper bone health. But your bones actually require a full panorama of nutrients to maintain healthy BMD.

The Washington University study was sent to me by Dr. Spreen along with this note: “Calcium alone is not very effective (if at all). In fact, if taken without magnesium it’s more likely to be deposited where you don’t want it, like on arterial walls.”

In addition to magnesium, Dr. Spreen recommends adequate amounts of the following nutrients required for complete bone support:

• Magnesium
• Vitamin D
• Phosphorous
• Manganese
• Silica
• Boron
• Strontium
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B-12
• Zinc

And anyone who buys the idea that antacid tablets provide proper calcium supplementation is way off base. Dr. Spreen: “Straight calcium alone, set up to deliberately be an antacid product, can actually lower calcium absorption.”

In the e-Alert “Absorbing it All” (4/19/04), Dr. Spreen offers an invaluable review of the different types of calcium supplements, with special emphasis on the importance of absorbability. You can find “Absorbing it All” at this link: http://www.hsionline.com/ealerts/ea200404/ea20040419.html

One final note: Dr. Spreen points out that once all the required nutrients are supplied, regular exercise is an important component of bone health.