Two new studies have shown that calcium supplements have little or no effect on increasing bone density and preventing bone fracture in older people, upi reports.
"Collectively, these results suggest that Clinicians, advocacy organisations and health policymakers should not recommend increasing calcium intake for fracture prevention, either by use of calcium supplements or dietary sources," said Dr. Mark Bolland, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland, in a press release.
"For most patients who are concerned about their bone health, they do not need to worry about their calcium intake."
Both the studies were published in the British Medical Journal.
In the first study, researchers showed that calcium acquired through diet or supplement increased bone density by only 0.6 and 2 percent over the course of two years, which is unlikely to result in a decrease in risk for bone fractures.
In the second study, researchers found that there is no relation between any form of dietary intake of calcium and incidence of fracture.
Professor Karl Michaëlsson of Uppsala University wrote in an editorial in the British Medical Journal,
"Most will not benefit from increasing their intakes and will be exposed instead to a higher risk of adverse events such as constipation, cardiovascular events, kidney stones, or admission for acute gastrointestinal symptoms. The weight of evidence against such mass medication of older people is now compelling, and it is surely time to reconsider these controversial recommendations."
