By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) — A leading U.S. government advisory panel has proposed that postmenopausal women not take low-dose calcium and vitamin D supplements daily to ward off bone fractures.
But the jury is still out on higher doses of these supplements, stated the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which issued the draft recommendations Tuesday. Public comment on the draft recommendations is invited until July 10.
The news was a bit of a bombshell, given that women have been told for so long to take calcium and vitamin D, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. “What we’re really seeing is no role for calcium for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures. At this point, there’s no reason to be taking calcium,” she noted.
Next, Japanese study: In 2008 an extensive Japanese study found a decrease in the risk of colorectal cancer with a higher dietary intake of calcium among middle-aged Japanese men, who have a relatively low dietary intake of calcium. A more recent study with vitamin D and calcium indicates a winning combination for oldsters. “A study recently published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) suggests that vitamin D–when taken with calcium–can reduce the rate of mortality in seniors, therefore providing a possible means of increasing life expectancy.”
We still need to take Vitamin D, there seems to be a vitamin D deficiency “epidemic of sorts”. Both my hubby and I have a D deficiency and other people I know also, when I asked my Dr, why, he said we are staying out of the sun more than before and if we do go out we slather sun screen to prevent skin cancer, we are not getting the sun benefits. He said most adults should be screened for Vitamin D deficiency which is just a simple blood test.
I wonder if Cacium taken seperateley would be ok, or eat yogurt, cheese, milk, etc
Something else to think about is what a beating milk has taken over the past several years. The know it alls tell us we don’t need milk so we stop drinking milk. Now we have calcium and vitamin D problems.
I love milk but have not had a glass in almost 7 months.
Keep in mind the “know it alls” gave eggs a beating for years only to be proven wrong on all counts. I have been reading from time to time that salt may not be the killer those same people said it was.
How about we all live our lives and tell the “know it all” to suck it. How long and how far are we willing to let others run our lives?
I am one of these people who ignore those that say do not drink milk, eggs etc.
I asked my Dr. his thoughts, I told him I like milk, yogurt etc, he said “I drink milk” fat free.
Since I drink fat free milk also I was” vindicated”, lol
On a note about Fat Free, to me the best is Lucerne from Safeway.