Calcium helps cut cholesterol during weight loss

February 07, 2007

NEW YORK - Getting enough calcium and vitamin D reducing calorie intake can increase the beneficial effects of weight loss on cholesterol levels, According to Canadian researchers report.

Overweight or obese women who took calcium and vitamin D supplements while on a 15-week diet showed greater drops in LDL or "bad" cholesterol and increases in HDL ("good") cholesterol, Dr. Angelo Tremblay of Laval University in Ste-Foy, Quebec and colleagues found.

"In the clinical context of obesity treatment, calcium supplementation could be recommended in women with inadequate calcium intake to improve the cardiovascular disease risk profile," Tremblay and his colleagues conclude in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Women who are trying to lose weight should be sure to get adequate amounts of every other vitamin and mineral, as well as calcium and vitamin D, because there is evidence that general vitamin and mineral supplementation may have beneficial effects as well.

The effect of calcium supplementation on total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio and LDL-to-HDL cholesterol ratio were independent of how much weight the women lost, the researchers found.

There are a number of mechanisms by which calcium may add to the beneficial effects of weight loss on blood fats.

For one, calcium appears to interfere with fat absorption in the gut. The mineral also helps the body mobilize and burn fat, and may also aid in appetite control.

Read the complete news article here:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov