Effect of Calcium on Weight Loss - Article

SAN DIEGO, Apr 17 (Reuters Health) -- High-calcium, low-calorie diets help obese mice lose weight at rates double those of mice given low levels of calcium, researchers report. They believe high levels of dietary calcium may suppress hormones that help us 'hold on' to stored fat. <br><br> ``For any given level of energy balance -- of calorie intake and physical activity -- dietary calcium helps determine whether calories go to storage in the form of fat, or get burned,'' explained lead study author Dr. Michael Zemel, of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The findings were reported at the Experimental Biology 2000 conference held here this week.<br><br> Zemel told Reuters Health that he was first tipped off to a potential link between calcium and fat metabolism in studies conducted years ago in obese men. When the men were placed on high-calcium diets ``they lost significant amounts of body fat,'' Zemel said -- even though their calorie intake remained the same.<br><br> Studies in mice suggested that low-calcium diets help stimulate hormones that push dietary calcium into fat cells. These hormones also appear to 'switch on' fat-storing and fat-preserving mechanisms within fat cells. High-calcium diets seem to have the opposite effect -- suppressing these weight-gain hormones so that the mice stay thin.<br><br> But would high-calcium diets help already obese mice lose weight? In their latest round of research, Zemel's team provided overweight mice with one of five diets. One group of mice stayed on the same high-calorie, low-calcium regimens that made them fat to begin with. The other four groups were placed on 30% reduced-calorie diets with varying levels of calcium intake, either from supplements (calcium carbonate) or dairy (dry skim milk powder).<br><br> The result? Animals placed on low-cal, low-calcium diets did lose a little weight -- about 11% of total body weight and 8% of total body fat. But obese mice placed on the high-calcium, low-cal diets ``lost roughly a fifth of their body weight and 42% of their body fat over the next 6 weeks.'' And mice who got their calcium from dairy lost even more -- ``a quarter of their body weight and 60% of their body fat,'' according to Zemel.<br><br> Clinical trials are now underway, and results in humans should become available within a year. It's not clear why calcium from dairy might stimulate fat loss any more efficiently than supplemental calcium carbonate, which is the form found in most antacid tablets. But Zemel stressed that any increase in dairy consumption should focus on low-cal products like low-fat yogurts, low-fat cheeses and skim milk. He sets recommended daily levels of consumption at ``3 to 4 servings of low-fat dairy products.'' The study received funding from the National Dairy Council. However, Zemel points out that there are other sources of dietary calcium besides milk and milk-based products. ``Some soy products of course have large amounts of calcium, we have calcium fortified products all over the place, from orange juice to cereals.'' Calcium is also found in produce such as collards, turnip greens, rhubarb, broccoli and kale.<br><br> The scientist warns against individuals seeing calcium as a ''magic bullet'' for weight loss. ``It doesn't mean that calories don't count,'' Zemel said. But he believes that high levels of dietary calcium can ``markedly inhibit the machinery for making fat and really rev up the machinery for breaking down fat.'' <br><br> I wonder if this includes the calcium found in milk chocolate...? ;-)

We greatly appreciate your interest in helping us build our Q&A database. To discourage vandals from posting garbage, however, we require people to register before posting.

You must be logged in to post an answer. Click here to log in.