Your calcium supplements aren’t magic beans. That’s the subtext of a recent recommendation issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force. For silvers prone to falls, it says, regular exercise is better protection against injury than calcium and Vitamin D supplements. This contradicts recommendations issued in 2012, but citing fresh analysis of clinical trials, the task force suggests that supplements prevent fall-related injury only in seniors with osteoporosis or a Vitamin D deficiency. In addition, it says that those who take supplements regularly are at higher risk of developing kidney stones. The fresh recommendation is based on a study of 11 clinical trials that covered over 51,000 people and was published in JAMA. It recommends exercise interventions for those over the age of 65 and prone to frequent falls, and emphasises that exercise intervention also lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and cancer.

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Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
June 2018