Study: Increased Calcium Improves Children’s Bone Health

Sunday, February 01st, 2009 | Author: Organic Health News

More and more our children are being left behind when it comes to health. They’re getting fatter, lazier, and now, according to new research, they’re not getting enough calcium.

New findings, published in the August edition of the journal Bone, came to the conclusion that “Increased dietary calcium/dairy products, with and without vitamin D, significantly increases total body and lumbar spine BMC in children with low base-line intakes.”

In this latest research, Michael Huncharek, Joshua Muscat and Bruce Kupelnickb analyzed the data from a total of 21 clinical trials. Totalling more than 3,800 children, the researchers set out to determine how the intake of dietary calcium would affect bone mineral content in children.

The information revealed that those children, who were not taking enough calcium at the beginning of these studies, saw a substantial increase in their total body bone mineral content (BMC). This increase measured out to be about 25x greater than that of children who had already been on a healthy diet of calcium.

Comments from Michael Huncharek MD, MPH, Director of the Meta-Analysis Research Group and lead author of the study.

“Dairy and other foods that are rich in calcium are thought to be important for the growth and strengthening of bones in children and adolescents. In the US, dairy products tend to be the preferred source of calcium since diets that exclude dairy are often deficient in this important nutrient.”

“The new findings show that for those children who have inadequate calcium intake, increasing dietary calcium has a significant impact on bone development. Since most children don’t get enough calcium, meeting calcium recommendations may help to prevent future osteoporosis.”

Many of us would have encountered advertising on television and elsewhere, warning us of consuming a healthy diet high in calcium to ensure that we stemmed the possibility of osteoporosis. A disease of the bone, osteoporosis leads to an increased rate of bone fracture through a diminishing of our bone mineral density.

Given the possibility that there is a way to stem the risk of osteoporosis from an early age, one would imagine just why there are so many children not getting the right amount. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that each individual should consume at least 3 servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy foods each day as part of their diet.

“It’s never too early to make bone health a priority. These findings continue to support the research that shows milk is an important source of calcium which helps build and maintain strong bones, muscles and teeth in children,” said Ann Marie Krautheim, R.D., senior vice president of Nutrition Affairs for the National Dairy Council.

The Benefits of Calcium Supplements

According to work done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 7 out of 10 boys and 9 out of 10 girls are not consuming enough calcium needed to maintain a healthy bone density.

However not everyone is able to rely entirely on dairy products for their calcium intake. That is where calcium supplements come in to the equation. If you are unable to get the recommended amount of calcium from your diet, it may be wise to supplement your diet with added calcium.

Check out the below video of Dr. Edward Group III discussing the differences between calcium orotate and calcium citrate… and which one is better for you.

For more information about how to naturally get calcium into your diet, it is recommended for you to read the following articles about soy milk and hemp milk.