What people with bowel disease can do to help maintain good bone health. Unfortunately, there are no specific treatments which are proven to be useful for the prevention or treatment of bone disease caused by bowel problems or the medications taken to treat bowel problems. There is no evidence that taking in twice or three times as much calcium is helpful. If your diet is not providing sufficient calcium, a supplement is helpful. Try to divide your calcium supplement into two or three doses a day, because too much calcium at one time will not be absorbed.
Calcium comes in many forms, tablets and liquids.
Table 4 gives some common sources of supplements, but is not all that are available. Check with your doctor if you have a question. Vitamin D is also very important, and unfortunately is available only from a couple of sources naturally . Vitamin D is also found in fortified milk, and in most of the food supplements like Vivanex and Pediasure. Children with bowel disease or any child on long term corticosteroids need 400 IU vitamin D daily.