USA Weekend Eat Smart Archive

September 2, 2007

Best Bones: High Calcium To keep bones strong as you grow older, should you eat foods that are high in calcium or take calcium pills? A new study from Washington University School of Medicine says postmenopausal women who got most of their calcium from their diet or from diet and supplements had better bones than women who got most of their calcium from pills alone. Probable reason: Calcium in food is better absorbed. Women who averaged 830mg of calcium daily in food had higher bone density in their spines and hips than women who averaged 1,030mg of calcium daily from pills. Women who ate high-calcium foods and took pills averaged 1,620mg and had the highest bone density.