Calcium and vitamin D. Thumbs up. Extra calcium to protect bone
health is safe and routinely prescribed for adults who get too
little from food. In one study, men who consumed the most
calcium (about 2,000 mg. a day) were 25 percent less likely to
die over the next decade than their peers who got the least,
according to findings published in 2010 in the American Journal
of Epidemiology. The Iowa Women's Health Study also found that
calcium supplements were associated with reduced risk of death
over nearly two decades. And consensus is building that
Americans need more vitamin D to promote calcium uptake. It is
produced by sun-exposed skin and is difficult to get from
unfortified foods—fatty fish is the only major food source.
Studies suggest vitamin D also may help fend off cancer and ward
off infections. Still, no large-scale randomized controlled
clinical trials prove vitamin D supplements offer benefits
beyond bone health. Researchers are hungry for more evidence. In
2010, the Institute of Medicine release