Dive Brief:
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Researchers found that calcium supplements are equally as effective as calcium-rich foods in reducing bone calcium loss in postmenopausal women, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The study, conducted by the Western Human Nutrition Research Center, included 12 women age 50 to 65 who kept low-dairy diets. In two separate six-week trials, the women consumed four servings of milk or yogurt a day or took a daily calcium supplement. Participants in both trials retained close to 50 milligrams of calcium each day.
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The women's bone density did not change during the treatment, though researchers stated that over time this level of retention could reduce bone loss.
Dive Insight:
The American dairy industry spends some $180 million annually to promote consumption of its products. Since the early 1990s, members of the industry have been involved in creating the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food pyramid, which has recommended how much of various foods should be consumed daily. Calcium-enhanced dairy products have been prominently featured in each version of that chart.
Milk and cheese were, and still are, touted as the end-all-be-all when it comes to getting consuming enough calcium and vitamin D. The public so enthusiastically bought into the "dairy is good for you" message that the supermarket section selling that type product is among the store's largest. Children, the greatest consumers of milk, regularly get healthy doses of calcium. Older consumers, whose dairy consumption often is limited to specialty cheeses and ice cream, sometimes need to get their calcium elsewhere.
Calcium supplements have proven to be a viable calcium alternative. Similar trials will need to be conducted to test the effectiveness on male bone density, but this study is still promising. To accommodate the health of aging populations, manufacturers could incorporate calcium supplements in prepared food products the same way they do with probiotics and protein.