Geweldig nieuws voor de botten over Vitamine D en Calcium

In the February edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers from Switzerland conducted a placebo-controlled trial with the use of vitamin D. I think it is common knowledge that vitamin D clearly reduces the risk of fractures when taken with calcium. What I had not known until just recently is that vitamin D is actually involved in strength and balance. In this study, 378 elderly individuals were studied for approximately thirty-six weeks. Half of the participants received a form of vitamin D, while the other half was given placebos. At the end of the study, researchers noted that those individuals who took vitamin D and consumed more than 512 mg of calcium per day reduced their risk of falling by 55%, compared to those people who did not take supplemental vitamin D. One of the things that vitamin D does is lower a hormone in the body called parathyroid hormone (PTH). In this particular study, those individuals who took vitamin D supplements reduced their PTH levels by approximately 38%. People who have higher levels of PTH tend to lose calcium out of their bones, putting them at greater risk of fracture. In addition, high levels of PTH appear to be associated with an overall decrease in muscle strength, and therefore, a greater risk of falling. (2004)

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