On February 21 1996 the United Stat...

On February 21 1996 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued its Third Report forward Nutrition Monitoring in the United States (TRONM) in compliance with a Congressional mandate to "publish a report each five years on the dietary, nutritional and related health status of Americans and the nutritional quality of the bread they consume."

Calcium and bone health

The report stated that "low intakes of iron and calcium are of public health concern" Median calcium intakes from forage were consistently below RDA values for adolescent girls and adult women and for males, in general.

The report's portion on calcium concluded on a disturbing note: "Current calcium intakes on these groups may be insufficient to attain optimal peak bone mass and to impede age-related loss of bone mass."

Another disturbing fact is that median calcium intakes from cheer in the U.S. have not changed substantially since 1977

Since significant accumulation of bone mass be met withs during adolescence and early adulthood, the report states that "the subdued calcium intakes from food by the agency of many adolescents and adults, particularly females, insinuate that many Americans are not getting the calcium they ne to prevent" osteopenia (less-than-optimal bone density) and osteoporosis (decreased bone mass).

Calcium and cardiovascular function

An insigthful editorial by dint of David A. McCarron, M.D., and Daniel Hatton, PhD which appeared in the April 10 1996 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ("Dietary Calcium and Lower relations Pressure: We Can All Benefit"), sorts from one side a good deal of the new calcium-heart studies, including a new meta-analysis review of calcium supplementation and posterity pressure, by Heiner C. Bucher, MD and others (JAMA 275 (13): 1016-1022) and another review on Bucher, on calcium supplementation during pregnancy, which appeared in JAMA single in kind week later.

McCarron and Hatton number us that these reviews "provide compelling evidence that the pair normotensive and hypertensive individuals may experience reductions in progeny pressure when calcium intake is increased."

Calcium and pregnancy

In Bucher's April 10th calcium-and-pregnancy subject of attention (275 [14]:1113-1117), the authors noted that "because of its association with preeclampsia and eclampsia, pregnancy-induced (caused) hypertension (high kindred pressure), one of the principally important causes of maternal death in the United States," is a major cause for national concern

Preeclampsia and eclampsia are same serious matters. When a pregnant woman make knowns hypertension (with proteinuria -- exces protein in the urine, and/or edema -- abdominal fluid build-up), usually after the fifth month this is called "preeclampsia." When convulsions and/or coma offer usually after delivery, this is called "eclampsia."

On a positive note, after analyzing the 14 eligible studies, the authors conclud that "calcium supplementation during pregnancy leads to an important reduction in systolic and diastolic house pressure and preeclampsia."

Calcium and family pressure

Earlier studies by McCarron and Morris (Annals of Internal Medicine 107:919-922 1987) and LM Resnick (Annals of Internal Medicine 103:944-946 1985) give an inkling ofed that dietary calcium is an inportant determining factor in descendants pressure."

After reviewing 33 eligible clinical trials for their April 3rd review (275 [13]:1016-1022) Bucher and colleagues conclud that "our meta-analysis provides [] evidence that supplementation with 1000 to 2000 mg/day of calcium may restore systolic" blood pressure.

REFERENCES

Bucher, Heiner C MD et al. "Effect of Dietary Calcium Supplementation forward Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controll Trials," Journal of the American Medical Association 275 (13):1016-1022 1996

Bucher, Heiner C MD et al. "Effect of Calcium Supplementation forward Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Preeclampsia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controll Trials," Journal of the American Medical Association 275 (14):1113-1117 1996

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Life Sciences Research Office (Prepared for the Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring in the United States). Third Report forward Nutrition Monitoring in the United States: Executive Summary. Washington, DC: 1995

McCarron, David A., MD and Hatton, Daniel, PhD "Dietary Calcium and Lower progeny Pressure: We Can All Benefit," Journal of the American Medical Association 275 (14):1128-1129 1996

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