Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Bone Health

Although insufficient when used as the only intervention, calcium supplements help prevent osteoporosis. Though some of the research remains controversial, the protective effect of calcium on bone mass is one of very few health claims permitted on supplement labels by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In some studies, higher calcium intake has not correlated with a reduced risk of osteoporosis—for example, in women shortly after becoming menopausal or in men. However, after about three years of menopause, calcium supplementation does appear to take on a protective effect for women. Even the most positive trials using isolated calcium supplementation show only minor effects on bone mass. Nonetheless, a review of the research shows that calcium supplementation plus hormone replacement therapy is much more effective than hormone replacement therapy without calcium. Double-blind research has found that increasing calcium intake results in greater bone mass in girls. An analysis of many trials investigating the effects of calcium supplementation in premenopausal women has also shown a significant positive effect. Most doctors recommend calcium supplementation as a way to partially reduce the risk of osteoporosis and to help people already diagnosed with the condition. In order to achieve the 1,500 mg per day calcium intake many researchers deem optimal, 800 to 1,000 mg of supplemental calcium are generally added to the 500 to 700 mg readily obtainable from the diet...