Calcium May Improve HDL Levels in Older Women.
AUCKLAND, New
Zealand--Calcium
supplementation may increase a woman's level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL,
or "good" cholesterol), according to a new study in the April American
Journal of Medicine (112, 5:343-7, 2002). In a one-year, randomly
assigned, placebo-controlled study, 223 postmenopausal women (average age
72) who were not taking therapies for hyperlipidemia or osteoporosis
received 1 g/d of calcium citrate. Researchers measured the women's levels
of HDL and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad" cholesterol) at baseline
and at different intervals within the study.
After 12
months, HDL levels and the HDL/LDL ratio improved more in the calcium group
than placebo group, largely due to a 7-percent increase in HDL levels. There
was a slight, but insignificant, decline in LDL and triglyceride levels.
Researchers, led by Ian Reid, M.D., reported that this issue warrants
further study. |
