Raising calcium intake has little effect on bone health: research

Increasing calcium intake through diet or supplements has almost no effect on people worried about bone health or fractures, according to two New Zealand studies out Wednesday.

Guidelines advise older men and women to take 1,000 to 1,200 mg a day of calcium to improve bone density and prevent fractures, and many people take calcium supplements to meet these recommendations.

However, the Auckland University studies found no benefit to most people and suggested it could lead to a higher risk of ailments such as gastrointestinal side effects.

"Collectively, these results suggest that clinicians, advocacy organizations and health policymakers should not recommend increasing calcium intake for fracture prevention, either by use of calcium supplements or dietary sources," Associate Professor of Medicine, Dr. Mark Bolland, said in a statement.

"For most patients who are concerned about their bone health, they do not need to worry about their calcium intake."

Bolland led a team of researchers in analyzing evidence from randomized controlled trials and observational studies of extra dietary or supplemental calcium in women and men aged over 50.

"In the first study, we found that increasing calcium intake from dietary sources or by taking supplements produces small (1 to 2 percent) increases in bone mineral density, which are unlikely to lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in risk of fracture," said Bolland.

"The second study found that dietary calcium intake is not associated with risk of fracture, and there is no clinical trial evidence that increasing calcium intake from dietary sources prevents fractures." Endi