Vitamin D helps calcium do its job

Although calcium is widely recognised as a suitable antidote for brittle bones when you get older, Dr John Morley warns against too much of a good thing.

Generally, physicians recommend a calcium supplement amounting to 1,000-1,500 mg to prevent fractures.

Dr Morley however suggests that a lack of attention to taking sufficient amounts of vitamin D could lead to defeating the purpose of all that calcium. The reason for this is that vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium in the body.

In the absence of vitamin D, the effects of taking any amount of calcium supplement could be minimal, and even harmful. According to an STL column by Dr Morley, research has found that calcium alone does decrease fractures in general, but the effect of the mineral by itself on hip fractures is minimal.

Hip fractures can be deadly to older people, and should therefore be the centre of attention when it comes to food supplements. When taken with vitamin D, calcium has shown to markedly reduce hip fractures.

Another problem is that Calcium alone tends to block the body’s ability to absorb other medicinal substances, and could therefore reduce the benefit that these can bring.

The suggestion is therefore that simply adding a vitamin D supplement to your calcium intake can have the dual benefit of stronger bones and better general health.

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