Get Into Your Skinny Jeans With Calcium - Vitamin D Supplements!

A new study says those calcium and vitamin D supplements may do more than just strengthen your bones - they could help you lose weight too! Here's the big skinny on getting into those skinny jeans! 

By Colette Bouchez

Whether you’re struggling to lose those last 10 pounds – or facing up the task of tackling a 50 pound loss or more – take heart.    Brand new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that boosting your intake of both calcium and vitamin D may be your ticket to skinny jeans! 

In research conducted at Ben-Gurion University in Negrev Israel doctors discovered that dieters who had a modest calcium intake of just 580 mg daily, and maintained a blood level of vitamin D around 30 nanograms per milliliter were able to naturally and easily lose more  weight over a two year period of time than those lower levels of both. 

“Our study suggests that both higher dairy calcium intake and increased serum vitamin D are related to greater diet-induced weight loss,” wrote the researchers, led by Danit Shahar from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. 

This new study tosses a bit more fuel on the fire burning around the idea that calcium-rich dairy products can help you lose weight. Indeed,  numerous studies have shown that increasing your intake of dairy based products while dieting could make weight loss easier. 

But while many dairy products, particularly full fat milk, ice cream and cheeses do indeed offer high levels of calcium, and some, like fortified milk also offer increased  vitamin D,  the high fat content can have some health concerns.  This includes not only an increased risk of heart disease, but possibly an increased risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers for women.   

And, in fact, since hormones are stored in fat, cattle which are given hormones such as estrogen (and many are) will yield a dairy product that could, for some women, increase some health risks. 
And some believe that’s too much of a trade – off for losing a few extra pounds.

But if, in fact, the weight loss was tied not to the dairy products, but the calcium and vitamin D these products provide, at least theoretically, you should  be able to gain the benefits without the risks by simply taking these nutrients in supplement form. 

And that in fact is what one study published earlier this year has found. Reporting in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, doctors found that patients who consumed calcium supplements containing between 1,400 and 1,500 mg daily  - with or without vitamin D3 – were able to better control that dangerous “belly fat” seen in the lower trunk and develop higher muscle mass in this same area.  

That said, an earlier Canadian study found that the weight-loss benefits of calcium supplements in women may be limited to those who are calcium deficient – and that no additional weight loss benefits will be derived if you’re calcium levels are already up to speed. 

So, what’s a gal to do? As with all things in life, moderation could be key. If you’re not taking calcium supplements then certainly you should talk to your doctor about adding at least 1,000 mg per day in conjunction with Vitamin D.

As to adding dairy products to your weight loss diet,  experts say if you stick to low-fat varieties such as low fat yogurt, milk or cheese, and limit your intake to no more than 3 to 4  servings per day,  you can gain the benefits without dramatically increasing any health risks.  

Also remember you can get calcium from sardines, pink salmon, soy beverages, oatmeal,  kale and fortified beverages such as orange juice. 

FOLLOW-UP To BONIVA'S BIG OOPS!  Several weeks ago we published "Boniva's Big Oops" - wherein we pointed out that the makers of the osteoporosis drug Boniva  suggest spinach as a way to increase calcium intake naturally - even though this goes against what most nutritionists recommend.  Because spinach contains oxalic acid -which interferes with your body's ability to absorb calcium big time  - spinach is not a good choice to increase bone health. In fact, adding it to your diet may actually reduce the amount of calcium you are able absorb from other calcium-rich foods such as milk, cheese or yogurt.   Since the article appeared we heard from hundreds of you who pointed out that not only are Boniva's erroneous ads still running on TV,  but that these same ads advocating spinach as a calcium-rich food  have even appeared in the  WebMD  magazine and on their website - where we all know the docs and nutritionists on staff  know better.  

So...if the Boniva folks don't think enough of your health to make the change in their ads and give you the correct dietary information to stay healthy, maybe you should think twice before accepting a prescription for this drug- who knows what else they are wrong about?  Either way, talk to your doctor - she'll know what's best for you.  And never stop taking a prescription drug unless you check with your doctor first. 

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Copyright by ElleMedia Network 2010 - All Rights Reserved. In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements. The creators of this blog may or may not benefit from products mentioned or featured on this web page.

Never Too Late!

A new study shows it's never too late to improve bone health and reduce the risk of fracture. Read on to discover what you can do - and why it works at any age!

By Colette Bouchez

This week a new medical study offered just the kind of news I live to hear: That’s it’s never too late to look to Mother Nature for better health!

Indeed, in research published in the British Medical Journal researchers from the University of California Davis documented how taking vitamin D and calcium together can improve bone health and prevent bone breaks- no matter what age you are when you begin the therapy!

This is an important finding for several reasons. First, in the past many studies of vitamin D and calcium taken independently of one another frequently yielded conflicting results. While some found that either of these nutrients could reduce bone breaks and benefit bone health, other studies found they had little or no effect.

Today’s study found it is, in fact, the combination of the two nutrients - vitamin D taken together with calcium - that yields the positive bone health results.

“What is important about this very large study is that goes a long way toward resolving conflicting evidence about the role of vitamin D, either alone or in combination with calcium, in reducing fractures,” said co-author of the study, Professor John Robbins from the University of California, Davis.

But equally as important: The study also found you could get these same results no matter your age, sex, or history of previous fractures. In fact, everyone who took the combination supplements had a reduced risk of bone fractures!

“This study supports a growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of fractures,” said Robbins.

What also made this research even more significant is that it involved an analysis of 7 previous studies involving a total of more than 68,000 participants - 15% of which were men - so the base upon which to draw conclusions was vast. Moreover, by reanalyzing the data from all 7 trials in a single study researchers were able to clearly see that when participants took as little as 10 mcg of vitamin D daily along with about 1,000 mg of calcium bone health resulted! More specifically the combination of nutrients reduce the risk of hip fracture by 16% while the overall risk of fracture went down some 8%. Those who took vitamin D at a dose of 10 or 20 mcg alone - without the calcium - saw no reduction in fractures.

What makes the combination so effective say researchers is that while calcium is essential for bone health, it is vitamin D that helps deliver that calcium into the bones where it can be used to keep bones strong.
Bone Health and Menopause
All of this is extremely important information for women over 45 since this is when our bones first begin to weaken. That’s due to a loss of estrogen, which begins to drop as we approach menopause. What’s the link?

Much like vitamin D, estrogen helps our bones utilize calcium in what is known as the “remodeling “ process. This is the natural break-down and build-up of bone cells that occurs throughout our lifetime.

As we age, however, and estrogen levels plummet we also experience a drop in calcium absorption. And that me our bone breaks down faster than it builds up- and that in turn leads to weaker bones which fracture more easily. This is one reason that many doctors not only recommended women increase their intake of calcium as they age, but , until a few years ago, also recommended HRT - hormone replacement therapy, which helped replenish some of the lost estrogen and thus helped keep bones strong.

Now, however, while we know calcium is still important, we can duplicate the absorption effects of estrogen - without any of the side effects of HRT - by simply adding vitamin D supplementation along with the extra calcium.

And again, this is super important for women since, as we age, our risk of the bone thinning disorder osteoporosis - and it's accompanying increased risk of hip fracture - increases. Indeed, to date , some 75 million adults are believed to suffer with osteoporosis in the US, Europe and Japan - the vast majority of them women.

Moreover, with our diligence in avoiding sun exposure - or using heavy sunscreens when we do hit the sun - most of us are now vitamin D deficient. And that means even if you’re taking calcium supplements, you’re probably not getting the benefits or the protection you think.

If you don’t want to take either vitamin D or calcium supplements, then be certain your diet contains lots of calcium-rich foods, and be sure to get 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure everyday. The body makes vitamin D from changes that occur in skin cells when we are exposed to direct sunlight.

If you do want to take a supplement, the study found that 800 units of vitamin D in conjunction with 1000 mg of calcium are all that’s needed to confer protection.

To learn more about choosing a bone health supplement, click here.

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Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.