DALLAS – March 24, 2009 – The amount of calcium your body
absorbs might depend, in part, on the amount of dietary fiber
you consume. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center
report that patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes (type 2)
excreted less calcium through their urine when they consumed 50
grams of fiber a day than when they ate 24 grams a day.
Excreting less calcium indicates that they absorbed less of the
mineral. "We already know that fiber helps improve your
cholesterol and glucose control and improves your bowel
regularity. Our new findings suggest that dietary fiber reduces
the body's capacity to absorb calcium," said Dr. Abhimanyu Garg,
professor of internal medicine and an investigator in the Center
for Human Nutrition at UT Southwestern. He is senior author of a
study appearing online in Diabetes Care. "Because more calcium
equals better bone health, we recommend that people on high-
fiber diets talk to their physician about increasing their
dietary calcium as well, in order to get th