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.
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.
Related Articles About Calcium:
- Top 10 Food Sources for Calcium
- Calcium Orotate vs. Calcium Citrate
- USDA: Database for Measurements of Calcium in Food (PDF)
Its a good article about calcium. Nice article.
not to be cynical, but isn’t this old news – I remember my mom telling me to drink my milk when I was five so I would have strong bones… I guess it is newsworthy because our society is doing so many things wrong when it comes to their health – right?
Thanks for providing such an useful information on Calcium Supplements. Its true now many of them are taking Calcium tablets to maintain a healthy bone density. This article will help to think before they take such things.
Rose.
Health is wealth.There is a great need to provide Proper nutrition food to kids. As their body needs nutrition rich food. A good post
Jason
This article gives me extra information needed on calcium. I guess I should be getting calcium supplements for my kids as well.
what about broccoli? i hear that it good for Bone Health too.
Great post! Even if kids don’t like milk there are still great ways to get their calcium for their diet.
Hi…
I like the article though! I’ve just recently begun supplementing with Vitamin D since I live way up north and I’ve had less flu like stuff.I guess I should be getting calcium supplements for my kids as well.
There can be numerous reasons why kids today are not getting enough calcium. One of them is that they may not be getting enough Vitamin D in their diet. Vitamin D is needed to metabolize calcium in the body. Most kids play indoors nowadays, watching television playing video or computer games or are on the Internet. Kids living on a staple diet of “trash” food is a major concern for parents. High sugar, high fat diets are common with very little nutritive value. I would suggest that we first help our kids to change their lifestyles—emphasize a balanced diet, time for physical activity. In addition to this, we should supplement their diet with calcium and a supplement like Omega 3 fatty acids, such as Omega 3 Children’s Formula. Omega 3 helps to build strong bones, and also increases concentration and mental abilities.
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Organic wasabi aids in bone calcification, as well as being an anticoagulant; it can help prevent certain types of cancer as well. Check it out for yourself at !
Hey there, i have been using an Ionic Calcium supplement from Top Form Nutrition.
Mainly to keep my bones strong, but also to help with muscle fatigue.
Good article, it’s always interesting to hear what people think about different health supplements, especially calcium supplements. I still believe getting calcium from dairy products is a better source of calcium then supplements.
Great post!! This is very important information for your kids health. So, Please check the Food Products which have good calcium for your Kids.