Calcium/vitamin d supplements may boost risk of urinary tract stones
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By David Liu, Ph.D.
Sunday June 25, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study in the July 2011 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests taking a supplement of calcium and vitamin D may boost risk of urinary tract stone.
Some companies pack calcium and vitamin d together in a supplement in hopes that they help bone health better. Both calcium and vitamin D are known to play a key role in bone health.
But the current study shows women who used a calcium/vitamin d supplement were 17 percent more likely to report diagnosis of urinary tract stones than those who did not use the combo supplement.
Robert B Wallace of University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA and colleagues found the association after they analyzed data from 36,282 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 from 40 medical centers that participated in the Women's Health Initiative Study.
In the study, half the subjects received 500 mg calcium carbonate plus 200 IU vitamin D3 twice a day for seven years and the other half received a placebo.
During the follow-up, 449 women in the group receiving the calcium/vitamin D supplement reported diagnosis of urinary tract stones. This is compared to 381 in the control group.
The researchers found the total calcium intake and use of calcium supplements at the start of the study were not correlated with risk of urinary tract stone.
The findings suggest use of calcium/vitamin D supplements may not be a good idea. But further research is needed to confirm that use of the supplement is actually the cause for the increase in the risk.
Vitamin D is important for bone health, which every doctor should know. But what most doctors may not know is that vitamin D may play crucial roles in more than 100 health conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, hematologic diseases, depression, infections, and autism.
To maximize the benefits from vitamin D, one needs to have intake of some cofactors including magnesium, vitamin K, vitamin A, zinc and boron, according to Vitamin D Council.
Photo credit: wikipedia
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