Can Calcium Supplements Prevent Osteoporosis?

More than 50 million Americans have osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that causes their bones to become weak and brittle. There’s no cure, but various preventive strategies can reduce your risk and ensure your bones stay healthy.

At Katy Rheumatology & Associates, P.A., in Katy, Texas, board-certified rheumatologist Padma Chimata, MD, FACP, AGS, and our caring team specialize in osteoporosis treatment. Take a moment to discover preventive strategies, including calcium supplementation, regular exercise, and reduced alcohol intake.

How to reduce your risk of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis typically affects people 50 and older and is more common in women than men. Although you can’t control factors like genetics, healthy lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your risk. 

One of the most commonly recommended preventive measures is calcium supplementation, but how effective is it? Let’s take a closer look at the science.

3 benefits of calcium supplementation

Calcium is a naturally occurring mineral that is found in various foods and drinks, including milk, cheese, yogurt, and tofu. It plays an essential role in bone formation and ensures bones maintain their strength and density with age. 

Unfortunately, your body’s ability to absorb calcium declines as you get older, increasing the risk of bone loss and fractures. Calcium supplementation can’t prevent this decline, but it can lower your risk when it’s combined with other preventive measures. 

1. Calcium increases bone density

After age 40, bone density decreases by about 1% each year. This means your body absorbs bone cells faster than it creates new ones. Calcium supplementation helps counteract this deficit by supporting the formation of new, healthy bone tissue. You can maximize this growth by also taking vitamin D. 

One study found that men and women 65 and older who took calcium and vitamin D supplements daily had less bone loss throughout their entire body.

2. Calcium supplementation may help prevent fractures

In addition to strengthening the bones, calcium supplementation may reduce the risk of fractures, particularly in women. 

Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that older women who took vitamin D and calcium supplements were significantly less likely to experience hip fractures and other nonvertebral fractures than women who didn’t.

3. Calcium supplementation reduces bone turnover

The bone cells in your body are constantly breaking down and reforming through a process called bone remodeling. This process loses efficiency with age, causing middle-aged people to lose more bone than they produce. 

Calcium supplementation reduces this turnover by about 20% and also seems to reduce postmenopausal bone loss. Since menopausal women are the most at risk of developing osteoporosis, supplementing with calcium makes sense.

Other ways to prevent bone loss

Even though calcium supplementation can be an effective preventive strategy, it doesn’t  guarantee that you won’t develop osteoporosis. 

To further support your efforts, we recommend exercising regularly (especially weight-bearing exercise, like lifting weights), quitting smoking, and drinking alcohol in moderation.

Contact us today to begin osteoporosis treatment 

Osteoporosis makes your bones more delicate, but you don’t have to stop living your life. Contact us today if you need help developing a personalized osteoporosis treatment plan. Call our office in Katy or book an appointment online.