Toned Bodies

How much calcium should I take, and do I need to take Vitamin D to get the calcium benefits?

Calcium requirements vary, so check with your health-care provider before you begin taking any supplements. As a general rule, the recommended daily allowance of calcium for most American men and women, from adolescence through adulthood, is 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams per day. Pregnant women and women who are breast-feeding should take a bit more: 1,200 to 1,500 mg per day. Postmenopausal women who are not taking estrogen should take closer to 1,500 mg per day.



Vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium, and most people should take between 400 and 800 international units per day—400 of this can come from a multivitamin, while the other 400 can come from milk or other sources.

What about constipation?

 
Calcium supplements can back things up a bit, so try getting your calcium from food sources. Low-fat dairy products are probably best. But if dairy doesn’t agree with you, try calcium-enriched juice, cereal, or bread. Calcium carbonate is often the bad actor in the constipation issue, so you might consider taking calcium citrate. This switch may involve a few more pills and a bit more cash, but let’s face it: There are few things in life more underrated than a good bowel movement.

Diabetes

As an endocrinologist, I see an ever-growing number of patients with diabetes and heart disease. Many of my patients with prediabetes or diabetes do not realize the negative effect that disease has on their hearts. There is now good evidence that heart disease actually begins just as glucose levels start to rise. Thus early treatment of even prediabetes makes a lot of sense.
The risk factors for heart disease can be rattled off by almost anyone who watches Grey’s Anatomy: high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, family history, and of course diabetes. However, the famous Framingham Heart Study suggests diabetes is playing an even greater role in the development of heart disease. Researchers from the Framingham study collected data on more than 9,500 individuals ages 45 to 64 during two different periods of time and compared risk factors for heart disease and cardiovascular events, including heart attacks. The initial study found that between 1952 and 1974, heart disease was complicated by type 2 diabetes in 5.2 percent of patients. However, that number jumped to 7.8 percent for individuals in the later group (between 1975 and 1998).
This study raises some important red flags. First, it points to the growing epidemic of diabetes in our country. As Americans become heavier, and more sedentary, the number of people with diabetes (with and without heart disease) continues to grow. About 65 percent of patients with diabetes will die from cardiovascular disease.