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Calcium Enhances Benefits from Weight Loss
Eat yogurt, drink milk and lose weight in that pesky abdominal area--the ads are everywhere. What is the hard science behind these claims? Researchers know that calcium (and dairy has a lot of it) can reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the gut, which can lead to enhanced weight loss. New research shows that calcium supplementation can also lead to benefits that reach beyond the scale.
Angelo Tremblay, Ph.D. and colleagues report that the addition of calcium supplementation to a weight loss regiment results in an improved overall blood chemistry profile. The Canadian researchers from Laval University published their findings in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A total of 63 healthy, overweight or obese women with low calcium intake (~700 mg per day) were enrolled in a blinded clinical trial in which they either received 1200 mg calcium + 400 IU vitamin D per day or placebo. All women participated in a 700-calorie per day reduction in food consumption for 15 weeks. The effects of calcium supplementation on weight loss, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels were measured after the 15-week intervention.
After weight loss intervention, both groups showed significant losses in weight, BMI, waist circumference and fat mass. However, the women taking calcium supplements also showed a significant improvement in their cholesterol profiles: the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) decreased, as did the total:LDL and LDL:HDL (good cholesterol) ratios. Though not statistically significant, there was also a trend toward beneficial changes in total cholesterol, HDL levels, and triglycerides (fat) in the blood (Major et al. 2007 Am J Clin Nutr 85). These changes were not attributable to the amount of loss in total body or abdominal fat.
These authors point out that several studies have indicated that eating calcium in the form of dairy has a greater beneficial impact (i.e. on blood pressure) than consuming calcium in a pill. There is still plenty to learn about the effects of calcium on the body’s ability to store and use fat, but the scientific evidence certainly supports the health benefits of a sensible diet that is also high in calcium.
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