Dieters - Protect Your Bones with Calcium at Her Active Life

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Dieters - Protect Your Bones with Calcium

Posted April 21, 2008 at 03:00 PM by Kathleen Blanchard

Section: Her Health, Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Weight Control

milk Past studies have associated dieting with bone loss. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that you can protect yourself by consuming 1 or 1.8g/day (1000-1800mg) of calcium during periods of moderate weight loss.

“Compared with obese persons, overweight persons may be more susceptible to bone loss due to reduced weight bearing, diminished extraovarial estrogen synthesis due to smaller fat depots, and reduced calcium intake due to lower energy requirements, especially during dieting, says Claudia S. Riedt, from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Women who enrolled in the diet study were observed for six months. Their ages ranged from 32 to 44. The group lost 7.2% ± 3.3% of their starting weight. Bone mineral density and bone content were measured before and after weight loss. In addition, tests were performed to measure amounts of fractional calcium absorption. The women who consumed normal amounts of calcium had an adequate amount of calcium absorption, and the rate was even better for those who consumed 1800 mg. /day, through diet and calcium citrate supplements.

A drawback of the study was whether or not the type of measurement used (x-ray absorptiometry) can be considered completely reliable. The results, though not conclusive, are highly suggestive that women who are dieting should increase their calcium intake.

If you are dieting, consider adding calcium rich foods and beverages as part of your eating plan. If you can’t drink milk, try lactose free, low fat products. Fruits, nuts, vegetables, dried beans, rice beverages, molasses, some leafy greens, calcium-fortified foods and beverages, and soy products are all good sources of calcium. If you’re able to consume milk products, try yogurt, cheese and low, or no fat milk. You can find a table of foods, along with the amount of calcium content by clicking here.

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Tags: blanchard, bone density, bone loss, calcium, calcium absorption, calcium citrate, cheese, dieting, lactose, milk, yogurt

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2 Responses to “Dieters - Protect Your Bones with Calcium” (Leave a reply)

Scott from New York said:

Heard of yogurt cheese? Richer in calcium than regular yogurt. We like it so much we wrote a cookbook and guide to expand its uses. We even paid to have yogurt cheese analyzed in a lab for nutritional content. Yogurt cheese (or YoChee as we call it) is a wonderful versatile ingredient you can make at home to improve your own yogurt. It has substantial health and taste benefits (a creamy food which is low or no fat plus high protein and calcium). I hope you will take a look at,” Eat Well the YoChee Way” our guide and cookbook to this important food. It really increases the use of yogurt cheese to main courses, soups, sauces, desserts, and much more. (Nutritional content included). Our website YoChee.com contains a free yogurt cheese how - to slide show, nutrition information and free recipes.
April 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Kathleen said:

Scott,
Thank you for your comment. I have never heard of YoChee, but laude you for having it analyzed for nutritious content.

Thank you for sharing. I plan to check it out.
April 23, 2008 at 11:44 PM