Study: With calcium, food trumps pills
Associated Pressr
Wed Jun 27, 7:20 PM ET
Most women know that calcium is critical in preventing osteoporosis,
the disease of progressive bone loss and fractures that affects
millions of Americans.
But which source is better - calcium-rich foods or supplements? A
preliminary study by researchers at Washington University School of
Medicine suggests dietary calcium may be better at protecting bone
health.
Though not definitive, the study found that women who get most of
their daily calcium from food have healthier bones and higher bone
density than women whose calcium comes mainly from supplemental
tablets.
That was true even though the supplement-takers had higher average
levels of calcium.
Calcium from dietary sources is generally better absorbed than that
from supplements, which could help explain the difference, said the
study's lead author, Dr. Reina Armamento-Villareal.
Those getting calcium from foods also had more estrogen in their
bodies; the hormone is needed to maintain bone mineral density.
Researchers can't yet explain the food-estrogen connection.
The research is preliminary and offers "a springboard to do something
more, a hypothesis to test," said Armamento-Villareal, a bone
specialist and assistant professor in the School of Medicine's
division of bone and mineral diseases. It was published in the May
issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers asked 183 postmenopausal women to meticulously document
their diet and their calcium supplement intake for seven days. They
tested their bone mineral density and their urine for levels of
estrogen.
The women then were divided into three groups: those who got at least
70 percent of their daily calcium from supplements, those who got the
same amount from dairy products and other food, and those whose
calcium-source percentages fell somewhere in between.
The "diet group" took in the least calcium, an average of 830
milligrams per day. Yet, the group had higher bone density in their
spines and hip bones than women in the "supplement group," who
consumed 1,030 milligrams per day.
Women in the "diet plus supplement group" tended to have the highest
bone mineral density as well as the highest calcium intake at 1,620
milligrams per day.
An analysis showed that women in the "diet group" and the "diet plus
supplement group" had higher levels of estrogen, needed for bone
mineral density.
Dr. Robert Recker, who heads osteoporosis research at the Creighton
University School of Medicine in Omaha, noted weaknesses in the study,
which he said "is certainly not definitive."
Those who got calcium from their diet might have also taken in more
vitamin D from milk, which would aid in calcium absorption. As for the
estrogen connection, they might have eaten plant sources containing
more of the hormone, he said.
"Nevertheless it's not to be ignored," Recker said. "Observation
studies are very good for generating a hypothesis to be tested later
in an outright experiment."
Dairy foods and calcium-fortified orange juice are excellent sources
of calcium. Dark green, leafy vegetables also contain it, though it is
not as readily absorbed as calcium from dairy, researchers said.
Armamento said she'd like to do a long-term study of teenagers whose
bones are still developing to see what, if any, differences might
emerge among young women taking calcium from diet versus supplements.
"It's a lifestyle issue," she said, noting that some teenagers avoid
dairy products.
On the Net: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://www.ajcn.org/
Washington University School of Medicine:
http://medschool.wustl.edu/
Creighton University Medical Center, Osteoporosis Research Center:
http://osteoporosis.creighton.edu/
Study: With calcium, food trumps pills 
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