A new investigation has revealed that calcium does not keep bones from breaking. Researches have found no proof that regularly taking calcium supplements or drinking milk will protect older bones.
Field experts from New Zealand say that telling senior adults over the age of 50 to consume somewhere between 1,000 to 1,200 calcium milligrams each day, if not more, is pointless as they will not experience any benefits.
Dr. Mark Bolland, associate professor with the department of medicine from University of Auckland and one of the study’s authors, offered a statement explaining that he and his colleagues came to this conclusion after looking at a little over 100 previously conducted studies that investigated the potential benefits of calcium consumption.
But once they finished examining all of the data, the field experts wrote in the new project that none of the earlier research provided any proof that an increased calcium intake strengthens the bones of older individuals, or that it prevents fractures.
Dr. Bolland informed that he and his colleagues took a look at all available clinical studies associated with dietary calcium intake, as well as those associated with calcium supplements, those associated with bone density, as well as those associated with bone fractures.
In the researcher’s words, “Taken together, we think this is the strongest possible evidence that taking calcium supplements will not be beneficial unless there are clear medical reasons that a calcium supplement is needed”.
And though it may be surprising, taking calcium supplements may actually damage people’s health. Dr. Bolland is backed up on this assessment by several other field experts who agree that this habit may lead to constipation, and increase one’s likelihood of developing kidney stones as well as experiencing heart attacks.
The authors themselves admit that the general public’s attitudes towards calcium and its importance will take a lot of time to change. People have been taught to see the subject in a certain light due to the way the media has presented it throughout the years.
On top of everything these messages usually came from authority figures such as osteoporosis advocacy groups and guidelines for osteoporosis management. Osteoporosis is a condition notorious for making bones weaken as people get older. It can lead to such a poor state of health that bones might breaks even from mild stress.
The new meta-analysis has two (2) parts. First, Dr. Bolland and his team looked at the earlier studies comparing older adults who consumed more calcium to older adults who consumed less calcium. This step also included an examination of earlier studies hat investigated the way long term diets with calcium from milk, dairy products and pills affected the chances of fracturing one’s bones.
The team came to the conclusion that calcium does not keep bones from breaking.
For the second part, the researchers looked at the earlier studies that investigated how calcium affected bone mineral density in individuals age 50 and older.
This second analysis showed that consuming more calcium does increase bone density, but only by 1 percent (1%) or 2 percent (2%), an amount that’s not gonna make a difference out in the real world.
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