Calcium supplements  increased BMD by 0.7 - 1.8 % at all five skeletal sites at one , two , and over two and a half years , but the size of the increase in BMD at later time points was similar to the increase at one year .
Increasing calcium intake from dietary sources or by taking calcium supplements produces small non-progressive increases in BMD , which are unlikely to lead to a clinical ly significant reduction in risk of fracture
OBJECTIVE To determine whether increasing calcium intake from dietary sources affects  bone mineral density ( BMD ) and , if so , whether the effects are similar to those of calcium supplements .
The effect of milk supplementation on bone mineral density in postmenopausal Chinese women in Malaysia
Dietary studies often report low calcium intake amongst post-menopausal Malaysian women and calcium deficiency has been implicated as part of the etiology of age-related bone loss leading to osteoporosis . Therefore , the objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of high calcium skimmed milk ( Anlene Gold ™ , New Zeal and Milk , Wellington , New Zeal and ) to reduce bone loss in Chinese postmenopausal women . Two hundred subjects aged 55–65 years and who were more than 5 years postmenopausal were r and omized to a milk group and control group . The milk group consumed 50 g of high calcium skimmed milk powder daily , which contained 1200 mg calcium ( taken as two glasses of milk a day ) . The control group continued with their usual diet . Using repeated measures ANCOVA , the milk supplement was found to significantly reduce the percentage of bone loss at the total body compared to the control group at 24 months ( control −1.04 % , milk −0.13 % ; P<0.001 ) . At the lumbar spine , the percentage of bone loss in the control group was significantly higher ( −0.90 % ) when compared to the milk ( −0.13 % ) supplemented group at 24 months ( P<0.05 ) . Similarly , milk supplementation reduced the percentage of bone loss at the femoral neck ( control −1.21 % , milk 0.51 % ) ( P<0.01 ) and total hip ( control −2.17 % , milk −0.50 % ) ( P<0.01 ) . The supplemented group did not experience any significant weight gain over the 24 months . The serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level improved significantly ( P<0.01 ) from 69.1±16.1 nmol/l at baseline to 86.4±22.0 nmol/l at 24 months in the milk group . In conclusion , ingestion of high calcium skimmed milk was effective in reducing the rate of bone loss at clinical ly important lumbar spine and hip sites in postmenopausal Chinese women in Malaysia . Supplementing with milk had additional benefits of improving the serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D status of the subjects
Calcium supplements  increased BMD by 0.7 - 1.8 % at all five skeletal sites at one , two , and over two and a half years , but the size of the increase in BMD at later time points was similar to the increase at one year .
Increasing calcium intake from dietary sources or by taking calcium supplements produces small non-progressive increases in BMD , which are unlikely to lead to a clinical ly significant reduction in risk of fracture
OBJECTIVE To determine whether increasing calcium intake from dietary sources affects  bone mineral density ( BMD ) and , if so , whether the effects are similar to those of calcium supplements .