Calcium

Sprouted-grain bread offerings in the market have been slowly but steadily on the uptick of late, and a number of health claims have attached themselves to the spongy, nutty-tasting loaves: more digestible, richer in protein and higher in vitamins and minerals compared with other breads. But are the claims true? Yes -- and no. Sprouted-grain products have distinct nutritional advantages over white breads, but when compared to other whole-grain breads, they're usually nutritionally comparable -- although nutrient contents can vary, depending on the sprouts included.

Taking calcium supplements increases the risk of having a heart attack, Swiss and German researchers reported Wednesday. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence that such supplements increase the risk to those who take them while providing only minimal benefits. The study is considered important because large numbers of people, especially elderly women, continue to take the supplements in hopes of minimizing loss of bone density.

It was evidently good enough for Gilligan and Robinson Crusoe. But is coconut water a healthy choice for people who aren't stranded on a deserted island? A longstanding treat in tropical regions across the globe, coconut water hit U.S. supermarkets a few years back and is now being marketed with a vengeance. Sometimes billed as nature's sports drink, the slightly sour beverage has also acquired a reputation for being able to improve circulation, slow aging, fight viruses, boost immunity, and reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Calcium is important for bone health, but medical experts have long debated how much calcium people should consume to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. A new study suggests that the U.S. recommendation for adult women may be unnecessarily high. The recommended dietary allowance for women ages 51 and older in the United States is 1,200 milligrams a day --  compared with the recommendation in the United Kingdom of 700 milligrams per day. The new study, published online Tuesday in the British Medical Journal , suggests that consuming more than 700 mg a day won't help.

Every so often, we take a candid look at the private dietary lives of people whose food choices need a makeover. Up this week: the kitchen and dining habits of 22-year-old Jessica Watson and her boyfriend, 31-year-old Todd Preboski. She's a vegan; he eats fish but no other animal-based foods. Such diets may conjure up images of fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, tofu and whole grains. But a lack of time and planning have cornered the couple into relying too often on Taco Bell burritos, protein bars and potato chips.

A carrot a day may keep osteoporosis away -- if that carrot has been genetically modified. "Fruits and vegetables are generally a pretty low source of calcium," says Jay Morris, a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine's Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston and lead author of a study published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Calcium is important for bone health, but medical experts have long debated how much calcium people should consume to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. A new study suggests that the U.S. recommendation for adult women may be unnecessarily high. The recommended dietary allowance for women ages 51 and older in the United States is 1,200 milligrams a day --  compared with the recommendation in the United Kingdom of 700 milligrams per day. The new study, published online Tuesday in the British Medical Journal , suggests that consuming more than 700 mg a day won't help.

Many over-the-counter calcium supplements that millions take to keep bones strong contain small amounts of lead that could be a health risk if recommended doses are exceeded, research suggests. About 5% of the U.S. population takes the supplements, including a sizable number of menopausal women, who face an increased risk of osteoporosis as their bodies stop producing estrogen. About 10 million Americans suffer from the bone-thinning disease.

The battle to beat the nation's growing obesity rate continues to challenge individuals and health experts alike. While short-term diets tempt us with their quick-fix promises and pharmaceutical companies invest billions in drugs to dampen hunger or speed metabolism, nutritionists are investigating how certain foods affect body weight. Among their discoveries is that calcium may play a key role.

Older women who took calcium supplements twice a day reduced their risk of breaking a bone, researchers have found, but getting them to take the pills proved to be a problem. Nearly half the 1,460 healthy women older than 70 who participated in the study did not consistently take the twice-daily 600-milligram pills, which led the researchers to doubt whether supplements could be useful as preventive therapy.

Calcium supplements appear to slightly raise the risk of heart attack, a new analysis suggests. But the data, from postmenopausal women who took supplements over seven years, are far from conclusive. So don’t throw out the multivitamins just yet – or those calcium supplements that many women take for bone health. Not all doctors are convinced that this study, led by the University of Auckland, is the last word on calcium supplements. Or that it changes the debate at all. The results from previous studies of calcium and heart attack risk, including ones from the same research team, have been widely criticized.

A team of Harvard researchers may have discovered a new way to ward off the red, itchy rash caused by allergies to nickel.  All it takes is a dab of topical cream, according to research published online Sunday in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Thirty million to 45 million people -- more than 10% of the U.S. population -- are sensitive to nickel found in common objects including jewelry and coins, the paper reported.  Among the sufferers: study lead author Jeffrey M. Karp of Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, a nanoparticles specialist who sought a way to treat the irritating allergy.

Calcium channel blockers prescribed to lower blood pressure and macrolide antibiotics to treat infections can combine to sharply reduce blood pressure in the elderly, leading to an increased risk of hospitalization and other problems, Canadian researchers reported Monday. The combination of drugs probably reduces blood pressure in younger patients as well, but represents a bigger risk in the elderly, who are already at increased risk of falls, said Dr. David Juurlink of the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, who led the study reported in the Canadian Medical Assn.

I suffer from digestive upset when taking antibiotics, and I'd like to counter that with the probiotic bacteria in yogurt. Does taking antibiotics with yogurt affect absorption of antibiotics? It depends to a certain extent on the antibiotic, but many should not be taken within a few hours of yogurt or other calcium-rich foods. That includes antibiotics in the tetracycline family and drugs such as ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, but not ofloxacin. Fruit juice fortified with calcium also can interfere with antibiotic absorption.

The Institute of Medicine recently upended the health apple cart with a new study that says we don't need as much calcium or vitamin D as we've been told. In fact, taking the kind of megadose that makes you feel virtuous and keeps the supplement industry healthy can lead to kidney stones, with calcium, and kidney or heart damage, with D. If that sounds alarmist, let me quote directly from the Institute of Medicine's statement, which says that "some signals suggest there are greater risks of death and chronic disease associated with long-term high vitamin D intake.

You're trying to do your bones a favor when you pop your daily calcium pill. And doctors who recommend the pills are trying to do patients a favor too. What then, to make of a suggested link between daily calcium supplements and a slightly increased risk of heart attacks? The findings, announced in July and noted in last week's Institute of Medicine report on vitamin D and calcium, caused concern among patients and some doctors alike. But many physicians say that the research needs to be confirmed before people start tossing away their calcium pills.

A public-interest group said Monday that the country's largest maker of dietary calcium supplements, Carson-based Leiner Health Products Group, has agreed to reduce the amount of lead in the tablets by the start of February.

A hormone that helps the body absorb calcium apparently is ineffective for treating women who already have the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, researchers report. The study found the hormone calcitriol failed to increase bone mass among a group of 72 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis. "The goal of treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis is to prevent further fractures," said Drs.

A team of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine sought Tuesday to douse growing concerns that North Americans are deficient in two key nutrients ? calcium and vitamin D ? and that they risk higher rates of a wide range of chronic diseases and cancers as a result. The panel concluded that "with few exceptions, all North Americans are receiving enough calcium and vitamin D" from the foods they eat ? many of which have been fortified with both nutrients. For all but a few, adding more of those nutrients in pill form would be useless at best and, at worst, would risk harm, added the report, which was two years in the making.

Vitamin D and calcium, calcium and vitamin D. We've heard the "get more" mantra for so long, small wonder a new report on vitamin D and calcium intakes is creating a buzz. The findings made news headlines because they dispute concerns about Americans being deficient in those nutrients, as this Los Angeles Times story says. But it turns out there are a host of such reports -- and the Institute of Medicine issues regular updates. Here's a plethora of tables that provide dietary guidelines for vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, riboflavin and other nutrients.