Betty C. JungDo you need to take vitamin D and calcium supplements? www.futurity.org/vitamin-d-ca... via @FuturityNews
Do you need to take vitamin D ...
Do you need to take vitamin D ...
Women lose ~3% of their bone mass each year during menopause transition & over about 5 years following the last menstrual period, as their estrogen levels decline. After this time, women’s bone loss continues at ~1% a year. Starting at around age 50, men lose bone at a steady rate of 1% per year.
This bone loss weakens the bones, making them more likely to fracture if we fall. Without enough vitamin D, muscle strength & balance diminish, increasing risk of falling. For these reasons, hip fractures, which are particularly dangerous, jump dramatically as people move from 70s into their 80s.
But more and more calcium and vitamin D is not better and better, particularly in older people. If your calcium intake gets too high, you’re set up for kidney stones. High blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, commonly used indicator of vitamin D status, had increased risk of falls and fractures.
Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the recommended daily allowance of calcium for woman 51 and older and men 71 and older is 1,200 mg, while men 51-70 need 1,000 mg. For vitamin D, it’s 15 mcg for those 51-70, and 20 mcg for those over 70.
Calcium: Dairy products: milk, cheese, or yogurt. If you’re not getting 2 servings of dairy each day, then you’re probably not getting enough calcium. If that’s the case, it’s wise to take a 500-milligram calcium supplement each day. If you do eat enough dairy, there is no need to supplement.
Vitamin D: The strongest evidence for vitamin D is bone health, and recommendations are made with that in mind.
Down south, ample sunlight triggers vitamin D synthesis in the skin. If you have light skin and you’re getting a tan, you can probably skip the supplements until your tan starts to fade.
In MA, between Oct & Mar, skin doesn’t make vitamin D-too far north. So for five months out of the year, it’s a good idea for older adults to supplement between 800 to 1000 IU daily—and for the rest of the year, too, if you’re not outside enough to get a tan.
Ben@bettycjung.bsky.social doesn’t calcium supplementation increase excess deaths by significantly more than the number of fractures it reduces, even when given with D and K? (Heart health) Also, doesn’t dairy consumption pretty linearly increase your risk of certain cancers, like colon cancer? (Pretty sure talk about supposed raging calcium insufficiency is just old Got Milk propaganda. On the face of it, it seems pretty obvious that the West needs to be adding greens, not cheese.)