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Posted by Liz on Jul 23, 2008 in bone health | 1 comment

No bones about it ladies. As you enter the early stages of menopause, your bones lose their ability to retain their mass and manufacture new bone tissue, resulting in bone loss and increasing the risk for osteoporosis. In addition to exercise and eating calcium-rich foods, experts recommend calcium supplements to make up for what you might be lacking.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults ages 50 and over need about 1200 mg daily, while adults up to age 50 need about 1,000 mg daily. Calcium supplements have been shown to slow bone loss in postmenopausal women but for in some, may also cause bloating and constipation.

Fortunately, new research published in the early online edition of the journal Calcified Tissue International shows that supplements containing 500 mg calcium citrate are absorbed more efficiently than those containing 1000 mg calcium carbonate. What’s more, the lower dose of calcium citrate also causes fewer side effects.

The bottom line is less may be more, except for when it comes to side effects.

For those of you who don’t know the difference between the two forms of calcium, calcium citrate is derived from the citric acid while calcium carbonate comes from the shells of marine organisms, snails and eggs.

Finally, it’s Wednesday! For whatever reason, the calcium symbol reminds me of the following scene from Singing in the Rain. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=vH_OKzzZhw8]