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Volume 2, Number 37 - February 9, 2001
To Maintain Bone, Keep Taking Supplements

 

   While people over 65 can gain or retain bone by taking extra calcium and vitamin D supplements, researchers say any gains fade away if elders stop taking the additives.

   Scientists at Tufts University in Boston showed that healthy men and women over 65 who took the supplements daily for three years increased bone tissue in the spine, hip and elsewhere in the body.

   The spine and hip are two areas particularly prone to fracture in elders. In a follow-up study to see whether benefits lasted, 295 volunteers from the original study no longer took supplements provided by the researchers, though they were free to take their own supplements.

   The results of the follow-up study show that by the end of two years, no bone benefits to the spine or hip remained, says lead researcher Bess Dawson-Hughes. The study is described Agricultural Research magazine, a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

   Based on the findings, the researchers conclude that elders should try to meet the current daily recommendations of 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 400 to 600 international units of vitamin D from food and supplements on a continuous basis.
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Copyright 2001 by United Press International. 
All rights reserved.
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