Calcium Supplementation: How To Get Enough

Calcium Supplementation: How To Get Enough Posted By:
...

Nutritional supplements (ie, vitamins, minerals, and herbs) are a multibillion-dollar industry in the US. Many people learn about supplements from pop-culture sources across the internet and social media platforms—rather than scientific, evidence-based resources.

However, one evidence-based supplement that has been a time-honored recommendation for years is calcium. Adequate calcium supports bone, muscle, cardiac function, blood clotting, and dental health. Dosing recommendations vary depending on the reason for the recommendation, the age and gender of the patient, conditions such as pregnancy or menopause, other comorbid conditions, and concomitant medications.

According to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation (formerly the National Osteoporosis Foundation) and the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements, the daily recommended calcium intake for women aged 51 years and older is 1200 mg. Because of co-nutrient consumption, it is preferred that calcium comes from food sources. The highest calcium-rich food sources in the US include dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, as well as a variety of calcium-fortified foods such as tofu, cereals, and juices. When dietary calcium intake is insufficient, calcium supplements are recommended to reach the daily requirement. Although calcium alone will not increase bone density in older women if other vitamins and minerals are not at adequate levels, inadequate amounts of calcium alone are enough to decrease bone strength, creating the risk for osteopenia or osteoporosis.

The Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation's website has a Health Professionals Toolkit as well as information for patients from many evidence-based resources. Included are calcium-intake calculators to help patients determine their approximate daily calcium intake from food sources, which can help to reinforce and understand the need (if any) for supplementation. Check out these websites to stay updated on calcium and bone health to provide expert patient care.

References

Share

Filed under: Preventive Medicine

Sign up to receive posts from The Exchange

Related
Doxy-PEP: A New Opportunity to Reduce STIs

Doxy-PEP: A New Opportunity to Reduce STIs

According to CDC data from 2022, more than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis w ...

Filed under: Nurses Week, Infectious Diseases, Urology, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, Substance Abuse, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Navigating Nonpharmacologic Approaches to Chronic Pain Management

Navigating Nonpharmacologic Approaches to Chronic ...

The concept of multimodal treatment in chronic pain management goes back to some of the early establ ...

Filed under: Psychiatry, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, Substance Abuse, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Tackling Disparities in HIV Prevention

Tackling Disparities in HIV Prevention

Racial and ethnic disparities have been a problem in the HIV epidemic since the very beginning. Rece ...

Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Women's Health, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Strategies for APPs in Primary Care: Promoting PrEP Uptake Among Cisgender Women

Strategies for APPs in Primary Care: Promoting PrE ...

As a family nurse practitioner and a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jeffers ...

Filed under: Infectious Diseases, Women's Health, Preventive Medicine, Public Health, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Dupilumab Now Approved for Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Dupilumab Now Approved for Eosinophilic Esophagiti ...

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by eosinophilic inflamma ...

Filed under: Gastroenterology, Preventive Medicine


Continue Reading
Universal Screening for Afib in Primary Care: Feasible but not Productive

Universal Screening for Afib in Primary Care: Feas ...

Recent data from the VITAL-AF study has provided insight into the efficacy of universal point-of-car ...

Filed under: Cardiometabolic, Preventive Medicine


Continue Reading