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 .
An open, crossover trial of calcium-fortified milk in prevention of early postmenopausal bone loss.
OBJECTIVE To establish whether calcium-enriched milk reduces bone loss in women who are within five years of the menopause and have a basal calcium intake < or = 1,250 mg . DESIGN Two-year open , crossover study . SETTING A community-based study carried out in Adelaide , South Australia , between September 1997 and June 2000 . PARTICIPANTS 115 women recruited by newspaper advertisement , who were less than five years postmenopausal , were not taking hormone or other therapy that could affect bone and had a usual calcium intake < or = 1,250 mg daily . INTERVENTION Participants were r and omly allocated to Group 1 ( who received a supplement of 3 L of calcium-fortified milk weekly in the first year ) or Group 2 ( who followed their usual diets in the first year ) . In the second year , Group 1 reverted to their usual diets , and Group 2 received the milk supplement . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Difference in loss of bone mineral density ( BMD ) at the spine and forearm in the same individuals on and off the milk supplement ;  urinary excretion of bone resorption markers in a subset of 72 participants in the first year . RESULTS With each woman serving as her own control , the rate of bone loss from the spine was 1.76 percentage points less when the women were taking the milk supplement than when they were on their usual diet ( 95 % CI , 0.54%-2.98 % ; P=0.006 ) . However , there was no significant difference in bone loss in the forearm . Fasting urine levels of two markers of bone resorption ( hydroxyproline and deoxypyridinoline ) were significantly lower in 36 women in the milk group than in 36 women in the usual-diet group ( P=0.03 for both markers ) . CONCLUSION Supplementing the diet with calcium-fortified milk early in the postmenopausal period delays bone loss at the spine but not at the forearm , and reduces the excretion of bone resorption markers
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 .