A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the simple addition of calcium and Vitamin D to a weight loss plan helped improve blood lipid profiles in obese women.
The study involved more than 60 women who were obese at onset, 50 percent of whom had inadequate calcium intakes. The women were placed on a low calorie diet for a total of 15 weeks. During that time their weight and cholesterol levels were tracked. Half of the women were also given 1200 mg of calcium and 400 IU of Vitamin D a day.
At the completion of the study there was no difference in the amount of weight lost between those women given the calcium and Vitamin D and those given placebo. But there was a difference in the blood lipid levels.
The women who took the additional supplements had greater decreases in LDL or bad cholesterol and greater increases in HDL or good cholesterol, again independent of weight loss.
The study did not extrapolate the mechanism behind calcium and Vitamin D's effects on cholesterol levels, but the researchers sited several possibilities.
Calcium may interfere with absorption in the GI tract, it may aid in appetite control, and it may help to burn fat or increase the availability for fat to be used for energy.
Because almost half the women had inadequate intake of calcium the researchers recommend calcium be added to the daily regimen for obese women and these women may also need to consider a complete multivitamin.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on February 13, 2007 10:41 AM
