Panel questions value of calcium, vitamin D pills
WASHINGTON (AP) - Popping calcium and vitamin D pills in hopes of strong bones? Healthy older women shouldn't bother with relatively low-dose dietary supplements, say new recommendations from a government advisory group.
Both nutrients are crucial for healthy bones and specialists advise getting as much as possible from a good diet. The body also makes vitamin D from sunshine. If an older person has a vitamin deficiency or bone-thinning osteoporosis, doctors often prescribe higher-than-normal doses.
But for otherwise healthy postmenopausal women, adding modest supplements to their diet - about 400 international units of D and 1,000 milligrams of calcium - don't prevent broken bones but can increase the risk of kidney stones, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday.
It isn't clear if those doses offer bone protection if taken before menopause, or if they help men's bones, the guidelines said.
What about higher-dose supplements that have become more common recently? There's not enough evidence to tell if they would prevent fractures, either, in an otherwise healthy person, the panel concluded. It urged more research to settle the issue.
It's a confusing message considering that for years, calcium and vitamin D supplements have been widely considered an insurance policy against osteoporosis, with little down side to taking them.
"Regrettably, we don't have as much information as we would like to have about a substance that has been around a long time and we used to think we understood," said Dr. Virginia Moyer of the Baylor College of Medicine, who heads the task force. "Turns out, there's a lot more to learn."
The main caution: These recommendations aren't for people at high risk of weak bones, including older adults who have previously broken a bone and are at risk for doing so again, said Dr. Sundeep Khosla of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Those people should consult a doctor, said Khosla, a bone specialist at the Mayo Clinic who wasn't part of the panel's deliberations.
Calcium and vitamin D work together, and you need a lifetime of both to build and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D also is being studied for possibly preventing cancer and certain other diseases, something that Monday's guidelines don't address and that other health groups have cautioned isn't yet proven.
For now, national standards advise the average adult to get about 1,000 mg of calcium, 1,300 for postmenopausal women, every day. For vitamin D, the goal is 600 IUs of vitamin D every day, moving to 800 after age 70, according to the Institute of Medicine, which set those levels in 2010. The nutrients can come from various foods, including orange juice fortified with calcium and D; dairy foods such as milk, yogurt and cheese; certain fish including salmon; and fortified breakfast cereals. Harder to measure is how much vitamin D the body also produces from sunshine.
Most people should get enough calcium from food, said Mayo's Khosla. But while he cautions against too high doses, he frequently tells his patients to take a multivitamin because it's harder to get vitamin D from food and during the winter.
While supplement science gets sorted out, the task force's Moyer advises healthy seniors to exercise - proven to shore up bones and good for the rest of the body, too.
Both nutrients are crucial for healthy bones and specialists advise getting as much as possible from a good diet. The body also makes vitamin D from sunshine. If an older person has a vitamin deficiency or bone-thinning osteoporosis, doctors often prescribe higher-than-normal doses.
But for otherwise healthy postmenopausal women, adding modest supplements to their diet - about 400 international units of D and 1,000 milligrams of calcium - don't prevent broken bones but can increase the risk of kidney stones, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday.
It isn't clear if those doses offer bone protection if taken before menopause, or if they help men's bones, the guidelines said.
What about higher-dose supplements that have become more common recently? There's not enough evidence to tell if they would prevent fractures, either, in an otherwise healthy person, the panel concluded. It urged more research to settle the issue.
It's a confusing message considering that for years, calcium and vitamin D supplements have been widely considered an insurance policy against osteoporosis, with little down side to taking them.
"Regrettably, we don't have as much information as we would like to have about a substance that has been around a long time and we used to think we understood," said Dr. Virginia Moyer of the Baylor College of Medicine, who heads the task force. "Turns out, there's a lot more to learn."
The main caution: These recommendations aren't for people at high risk of weak bones, including older adults who have previously broken a bone and are at risk for doing so again, said Dr. Sundeep Khosla of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Those people should consult a doctor, said Khosla, a bone specialist at the Mayo Clinic who wasn't part of the panel's deliberations.
Calcium and vitamin D work together, and you need a lifetime of both to build and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D also is being studied for possibly preventing cancer and certain other diseases, something that Monday's guidelines don't address and that other health groups have cautioned isn't yet proven.
For now, national standards advise the average adult to get about 1,000 mg of calcium, 1,300 for postmenopausal women, every day. For vitamin D, the goal is 600 IUs of vitamin D every day, moving to 800 after age 70, according to the Institute of Medicine, which set those levels in 2010. The nutrients can come from various foods, including orange juice fortified with calcium and D; dairy foods such as milk, yogurt and cheese; certain fish including salmon; and fortified breakfast cereals. Harder to measure is how much vitamin D the body also produces from sunshine.
Most people should get enough calcium from food, said Mayo's Khosla. But while he cautions against too high doses, he frequently tells his patients to take a multivitamin because it's harder to get vitamin D from food and during the winter.
While supplement science gets sorted out, the task force's Moyer advises healthy seniors to exercise - proven to shore up bones and good for the rest of the body, too.
Calcium and vitamin D is necessary to provide the ultimate bone support. These two are key of getting healthy bones. Have you ever tried algaecal plus? It contains all those things.
What I find most disturbing about this article... is the lack of any recommendation to get your vitamin D levels tested with your doctor FIRST (if you think you need to), before deciding "how much" vitamin D you need.
In short, talk to your doctor. Get professional medical advice (which the above isn't, that is only opinion, I'm not a doctor).
That's how we get down to each individual person, because we're all different, and one recommended dosage isn't necessarily right for everyone.
I tried D3 and it made me so lethargic I couldn't stay awake. Stopped taking it and back to normal. I tried it three different times with the same result.
Family in AZ was also low in Vit D due to staying OUT of the sunshine because it is too hot or damaging to your skin. Â I don't care what they say in this article, taking Vitamin D3 changed my life! I was low on energy and my immunologist tested my levels and I was at 10. I started supplementing and my energy levels came back. My blood level went from 10 to 76 (so you can't believe the people who say pills just sit in your stomach). My husband noticed such a dramatic change in me that he is even taking them. I also get sick a lot less since taking Vitamin D3. Â I recently started taking Calcium and my first bone scan shows I am in normal range. It will be interesting to see how that may change as I am in menopause at age 46......... Â Don't just take supplements just to take them. Go to your doctor or naturopath and get tested to see if you are seriously low or not.
If you have moved from anywhere else to here in Washington, because of the lack of sunshine compared to anywhere else, you need vitamin D!!!!!