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By the National Osteoporosis Foundation

Calcium and vitamin D are essential to building strong, dense bones when you’re young and to keeping them strong and healthy as you age.

About 99% of the calcium in our bodies is in our bones and teeth. When we don’t get the calcium our body needs, it is taken from our bones. This is fine once in a while, but if it happens too often, bones get weak and may break.

Vitamin D plays an important role in protecting our bones, too, both by helping the body absorb calcium and by supporting muscles needed to avoid falls. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you’re more likely to break bones as you age.

How much do you need?

Calcium is a mineral that is necessary for life. In addition to building bones and keeping them healthy, calcium enables our blood to clot, our muscles to contract, and our heart to beat.

Our bodies cannot produce their own calcium. That’s why it’s important to get enough calcium from the food we eat.

The amount of calcium you need every day depends on your age and sex. Women age 51 and older should get 1,200 mg. daily. Men age 70 and younger should get 1,000 mg. daily and 1,200 mg. after age 70. This includes the total amount of calcium you get from food and supplements.

To calculate how much calcium is in your diet, use the International Osteoporosis Foundation’s calculator at iofbonehealth.org/calcium-calculator.

Calcium-rich foods

Food is the best source of calcium. Dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese are high in calcium. Certain green vegetables and other foods contain calcium in smaller amounts.

Some juices, breakfast foods, soymilk, cereals, snacks, breads and bottled water have added calcium. If you drink soymilk or another liquid that is fortified with calcium, be sure to shake the container well, as calcium can settle to the bottom.

A simple way to add calcium to many foods is with a tablespoon of nonfat powdered milk, which contains about 50 mg. of calcium. It’s easy to add a few tablespoons of powdered milk to almost any recipe.

Calcium supplements

Try to get the daily recommended amount of calcium from food. In general, you shouldn’t take supplements that you don’t need. There is no added benefit to taking more calcium than you need. Doing so may even carry some risks. [See “Supplements may raise men’s cancer risk” on page 8.]

When choosing a supplement, keep the following in mind: —Choose brand-name supplements with proven reliability. Look for labels that state “purified” or have the USP (United States Pharmacopeia) symbol. —Calcium is absorbed best when taken in amounts of 500 to 600 mg. or less. This is the case for both foods and supplements. Try to get your calcium-rich foods and/or supplements in small amounts throughout the day, preferably with a meal. While it’s not recommended, taking your calcium all at once is better than not taking it at all. —Take (most) calcium supplements with food. Eating food produces stomach acid that helps your body absorb most calcium supplements. The one exception to the rule is calcium citrate, which can absorb well when taken with or without food.

When starting a new calcium supplement, start with a smaller amount to mitigate possible side effects, such as gas or constipation. If increasing fluids in your

See BONE HEALTH, page 12

Supplements

From page 8

This recommendation is based on a controlled trial that looked at whether supplements of vitamin E, selenium or both could reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

The results found that men who took vitamin E actually had a higher rate of prostate cancer and especially aggressive cancer.

Selenium. In the vitamin E and selenium trial, selenium supplement use was associated with a slight increase in cancer risk, but this was not statistically significant.

The bottom line: At present, there’s no firm evidence to support any vitamin or mineral supplements to prevent prostate cancer. However, it would be best if you still focused on getting these same nutrients through a healthy diet.

Men who eat high amounts of fruits and vegetables and minimal red meat and high-fat dairy products may have a lower prostate cancer risk.

Also, maintaining a healthy weight and regular exercise appears to decrease the risk of developing more aggressive and potentially deadly types of prostate cancer. © 2021 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.