Possible cancer prevention

A randomized controlled trial found that 14001500 mg supplemental calcium and 1100 IU vitamin D3 reduced aggregated cancers with a relative risk of 0.402.[49] An observational cohort study found that high calcium and vitamin D intake was associated with "lower risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer."[50] Calcium is one of the most important elements in the diet because it is a structural component of bones, teeth, and soft tissues and is essential in many of the body's metabolic processes. It accounts for 1 to 2 percent of adult body weight, 99 percent of which is stored in bones and teeth. On the cellular level, calcium is used to regulate the permeability and electrical properties of biological membranes (such as cell walls), which in turn control muscle and nerve functions, glandular secretions, and blood vessel dilation and contraction. Calcium is also essential for proper blood clotting .

Because of its biological importance, calcium levels are carefully controlled in various compartments of the body. The three major regulators of blood calcium are parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D , and calcitonin. PTH is normally released by the four parathyroid glands in the neck in response to low calcium levels in the bloodstream (hypocalcemia). PTH acts in three main ways: (1) It causes the gastrointestinal tract to increase calcium absorption from food, (2) it causes the bones to release some of their calcium stores, and (3) it causes the kidneys to excrete more phosphorous, which indirectly raises calcium levels.

Vitamin D works together with PTH on the bone and kidney and is necessary for intestinal absorption of calcium. Vitamin D can either be obtained from the diet or produced in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. Insufficient vitamin D from these sources can result in rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, conditions that result in bone deformities. Calcitonin, a hormone released by the thyroid, parathyroid, and thymus glands, lowers blood levels by promoting the deposition of calcium into bone.

Most dietary calcium is absorbed in the small intestine and transported in the bloodstream bound to albumin, a simple protein . Because of this method of transport, levels of albumin can also influence blood calcium measurements. Calcium is deposited in bone with phosphorous in a crystalline form of calcium phosphate.

Deficiency and Toxicity

Because bone stores of calcium can be used to maintain adequate blood calcium levels, short-term dietary deficiency of calcium generally does not result in significantly low blood calcium levels. But, over the long term, dietary deficiency eventually depletes bone stores, rendering the bones weak and prone to fracture. A low blood calcium level is more often the result of a disturbance in the body's calcium regulating mechanisms, such as insufficient PTH or vitamin D, rather than dietary deficiency. When calcium levels fall too low, nerve and muscle impairments can result. Skeletal muscles can spasm and the heart can beat abnormallyit can even cease functioning.

Toxicity from calcium is not common because the gastrointestinal tract normally limits the amount of calcium absorbed. Therefore, short-term intake of large amounts of calcium does not generally produce any ill effects aside from constipation and an increased risk of kidney stones . However, more severe toxicity can occur when excess calcium is ingested over long periods, or when calcium is combined with increased amounts of vitamin D, which increases calcium absorption. Calcium toxicity is also sometimes found after excessive intravenous administration of calcium. Toxicity is manifested by abnormal deposition of calcium in tissues and by elevated blood calcium levels (hypercalcemia). However, hypercalcemia is often due to other causes, such as abnormally high amounts of PTH. Usually, under these circumstances, bone density is lost and the resulting hypercalcemia can cause kidney stones and abdominal pain. Some cancers can also cause hypercalcemia, either by secreting abnormal proteins that act like PTH or by invading and killing bone cells causing them to release calcium. Very high levels of calcium can result in appetite loss, nausea , vomiting, abdominal pain, confusion, seizures, and even coma.

Requirements and Supplementation

Dietary calcium requirements depend in part upon whether the body is growing or making new bone or milk. Requirements are therefore greatest during childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Recommended daily intake (of elemental calcium) varies accordingly: 400 mg for

infants 06 months, 600 mg for infants 612 months, 800 mg for children 110 years, 1,200 mg for ages 1124 years, and 800 mg for individuals over 24 years of age. Pregnant women require additional calcium (RDA 1,200 mg). Many experts believe that elderly persons should take as much as 1,500 mg to help prevent osteoporosis , a common condition in which bones become weak and fracture easily due to a loss of bone density. Dairy products, meats, and some seafood (sardines, oysters) are excellent sources of calcium. Spinach, beet greens, beans, and peanuts are among the best plant-derived sources.

Calcium absorption is affected by many factors, including age, the amount needed, and what foods are eaten at the same time. In general,

Read more: Calcium - effects, food, nutrition, deficiency, needs, body, diet, absorption, protein, fat, vitamin, weight, vitamins, Deficiency and Toxicity, Requirements and Supplementation http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Ca-De/Calcium.html#ixzz1Ft2fchQe

Too Much Vitamin A May Put Some Women at Risk for Hip Fractures
For women who consume large amounts of vitamin A, also known as retinol, lowered bone mass and an increased risk of hip fractures may result, say researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Previous research has shown that too much vitamin A in the diet can suppress the body's ability to make new bone and may actually reduce a person's existing bone mass, thereby increasing the risk of fractures. Researchers studied over 72,000 postmenopausal women for 18 years to assess the relationship between high vitamin A intake from foods and supplements and the risk of hip fractures. The women in the study completed regular food questionnaires and provided information about health habits, use of hormones and supplements and weight. During the 18-year study period, over 600 women experienced hip fractures. Women who had the highest total vitamin A intake had a significantly higher risk of hip fracture when compared to women who consumed the least amount of vitamin A. The researchers maintained that the increased risk was mainly attributable to retinol, the vitamin A found in foods of animal origin, not beta carotene, which is contained in fruits and vegetables and can be converted to retinol by the body. Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin, is an important dietary element - it is involved in the formation and maintenance of healthy skin, hair and mucous membranes. How much

vitamin A is too much? The 1989 RDA for vitamin A has been set at 800 retinol equivalents (RE) per day for women 19 to 50 years of age, and 1,000 retinol equivalents for men 19 to 50 years of age, so check your multivitamin or supplements to make sure youre not exceeding that amount. Remember, too, that foods contain vitamin A - one carrot has about 2025 RE of vitamin A, which is 203% of a man's recommended daily intake.

Increased Antioxidant Intake May Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer's

Antioxidants, such as vitamin E and vitamin C, help fight against cell damage and slow aging in the body. High intake of vitamin E and C may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative disease that leads to loss of physical and mental function, say researchers from the Netherlands in a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Over 5,000 people who were 55 years or older provided dietary records over a three-year period, and researchers examined how intake of antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene (found in carrots and sweet potatoes) affected a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease. At the six-year follow up, 146 of the study participants had developed Alzheimer's disease. Researchers determined that people who had high intakes of vitamin C and vitamin E had a much lower risk of developing Alzheimer's. It's recommended that both women and men consume at least 60 milligrams of vitamin C daily. Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes, berries, potatoes with skins, peppers, broccoli and spinach. Women need 8 milligrams of vitamin E daily, whereas men should consume at least 10 milligrams. To meet your daily vitamin E needs, try foods such as wheat germ, vegetable oil, egg yolks and whole grains.

Diabetes Basics - Who's at Risk?

Type I Diabetes
Type I diabetes is more common among whites than Asian, Hispanic, Native and African Americans. If you have a close relative with the disease, you are more likely to develop Type I.

Type II Diabetes
Type II diabetes also tends to run in families. In fact there seems to be even stronger evidence for some kind of genetic cause for Type II than for Type I diabetes. Type II is more common among Asian, Hispanic, Native and African Americans. Although Type II diabetes usually develops after age 40, about half of all people diagnosed with the disease are older than 55. This may be because as people age, they tend to become more sedentary and to gain weight. Eating too much food and being inactive can make you obese and you are more likely to develop Type II diabetes if you are obese. Obesity is, by far, the greatest risk factor for this kind of diabetes. Where the weight is distributed seems to be a factor, too. If you tend to have an appleshaped body in which you store fat around the tummy, you are more at risk for Type II diabetes. Those with a pear shape in which fat is stored in the hips are somewhat less at risk.

Gestational Diabetes
Any woman can develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, but some women are more at risk than others. Some risk factors include obesity, a family history of diabetes, having previously given birth to a very large baby, a stillbirth, a child with a birth defect or having too much amniotic fluid. Women who are older than 25 are at higher risk than younger women. About 135,000 women develop gestational diabetes every year.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a very special time in any woman's life. It is a time of great joy but also of anxiety and questions such as: How will I cope with the pregnancy? With labor and delivery? Will my baby be OK? These questions may be even more troublesome for women with diabetes. Until fairly recently, pregnancy was risky for women with diabetes. Fortunately, today with good medical care and rigorous selfmanagement, most women with diabetes have a successful pregnancy and a healthy baby - provided that they pay close attention to glucose levels and work hard to keep them as close to normal as possible. On this site we will cover three aspects of diabetes and pregnancy: The woman with diabetes who wants to get pregnant -- what you can do to help prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy The woman with diabetes who is pregnant -- what you can do to help make your pregnancy smooth and your baby healthy The woman who develops diabetes while pregnant, called gestational diabetes -- how to best manage your diabetes and your pregnancy

Diabetes & Pregnancy - At a Glance

For the woman with diabetes
Preconception Planning Is your body ready? Aim for near-normal glucose levels

Pregnancy in diabetes

Important steps to a smooth pregnancy Weight gain Impact on baby

Labor and delivery Glucose control during labor and delivery

For the woman who develops diabetes while pregnant

Gestational diabetes

What is gestational diabetes? Important steps to a smooth pregnancy

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Diabetes Basics: What is Diabetes? | Who's at Risk? | Symptoms | Diagnosis | Issues Complications | Other Health

Diabetes Basics - Complications of Diabetes

Heart Disease and Stroke | Diabetic Kidney Disease | Hypertension and Diabetic Kidney Disease | Diabetic Eye Disease | Diabetic Neuropathy | Gastroparesis | Diffuse Neuropathy

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are associated with long-term complications that threaten life and the quality of life. The disease is the leading cause of adult blindness, end-stage kidney disease(ESRD) and amputations (as a result of nerve disease). People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have coronary heart disease and stroke than people who don't have it. Diabetes complicates pregnancy and results in more birth defects than babies born to women without the disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than adults without diabetes. The risk of stroke is two to four times higher. An estimated 60 to 65 percent of people with diabetes have high blood pressure. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults 20 to 24 years old. More than half the limb amputations in the United States occur among people with diabetes.

It's important to know how serious the complications of diabetes can be. If you have diabetes, you will be the person most responsible for working to avoid the worst effects of the disease. You will want to know about these problems so that you can be alert to detecting them and preventing them. Diabetes care is a 24-hour-a-day effort, and preventing complications is worth establishing good self-care routines. The most effective way to avoid complications from either type of diabetes is to keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as you can. Click on

Benefits of Tight Control.

Related articles If You Have a Heart Attack, Ask for Insulin

A new study from Greece has found that administering insulin to diabetic patients having a heart attack may reduce mortality in these patients. The researchers propose that this effect may be due to improving the body's ability to break down blood clots. This report confirms earlier studies that showed intensive insulin treatment benefits patients with diabetes in terms of both short-term and long-term mortality after having a heart attack. In this study, patients received either conventional optimal therapy for their heart attack alone or conventional therapy plus insulin. The patients had type 2 diabetes; those who were already receiving insulin routinely were not included in this study. The researchers pointed out that they couldn't definitively answer whether the benefits during the acute event came from insulin infusion or from the improved glycemic control it provided. They concluded, however, that the accumulated data are important enough to influence the method of treating a diabetic patient with an acute coronary event. Management should be started with an insulin infusion on admission and continue with multiple-injection insulin therapy during hospitalization. Source: Melidonis A, Stefanidis A, Tournis S et al. The role of strict metabolic control by insulin infusion on fibrinolytic profile during an acute coronary event in diabetic patients. Clin Cardiol, 2000;23(March):160-164.

People with Diabetes Aren't Aware of CV Risks

A new survey of people with diabetes has shown that 68 percent are not aware of their increased risk for heart disease and stroke. The survey, which was co-sponsored by the American Diabetes Association and the American College of Cardiology, found that these individuals are also unaware of ways to reduce their risks for those serious complications. Commenting on the survey, US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson pointed out that 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart attacks or strokes. ADA president Dr. Christopher Saudek pointed out that good diabetes management is more than just lowering blood glucose. Diabetes patients must also know how to reduce cardiovascular risks by managing their weight, increasing physical activity, taking aspirin, lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol and quitting smoking, he said. Three-quarters of the 2,000 people surveyed reported having risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, but they didn't relate those problems to their diabetes. More than half of those polled didn't feel at risk for a heart condition or stroke, and 60 percent didn't feel at risk for high blood pressure or cholesterol. In another new report, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors were found to be more common among those with diabetes than those without it. Hypertension and high

cholesterol were more than twice as common among people with diabetes; obesity and insufficient physical activity were also more prevalent among them. This study noted that doctors are not counseling their patients adequately to make the lifestyle changes that can reduce those risks.

Osteoporosis and Diabetes Linked

It is estimated that nearly eight million American women have osteoporosis, the bonethinning condition that can cause fractures and stooped posture in older women. It usually becomes evident at the time of menopause. But now there's evidence that women with type 1 diabetes may suffer from loss of bone density when they are much younger. Researchers at the University of Buffalo are investigating the possible link between type 1 diabetes and early onset of osteoporosis. So far, they have found that bone density among females with type 1 diabetes is lower than that of women without diabetes. They are also looking into the relationship between various hormones and bone-mineral density. Earlier studies have shown that people with lower insulin levels tend to have lower bone-mineral density. The results from this trial will be used to help develop preventive measures. Since young women undergo increases in bone density for about two years following the onset of menstruation, steps will have to be taken at that time to maximize bone density quickly. Factors that assist in healthy bone formation include diet, weight control, exercise and the use of hormonal preparations such as estrogen, which may increase bone-mineral density.

Peripheral Artery Disease in Diabetes

People with diabetes are at increased risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD), which occurs when plaque builds up in the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs. More than 10 percent of people over the age of 65 have PAD. PAD reduces blood supply to the tissues in the legs. Some people have no symptoms, while others have the classic symptom of pain in the calf while walking that subsides when resting (called "intermittent claudication"). Others experience changes in leg function that can affect their ability to walk. In a new study, PAD was diagnosed with a test called the ankle brachial index (ABI), which compares blood pressure in the arm and lower leg. It is a simple, noninvasive way to identify PAD. Only about a third of the patients with PAD in the study had any leg pain. They did have signs of poor leg functioning, however, including slower walking speed and an inability to walk continuously. They also could not walk as far in a six-minute test than those without PAD. If these symptoms seem familiar to you, ask your doctor about an ABI test. Untreated PAD can be dangerous, with high rates of mortality and development of other cardiovascular complications. It is usually treated with lifestyle changes including increased

walking to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels around those that are blocked. Drugs to dilate blood vessels or thin the blood may be given; in severe cases, angioplasty or bypass procedures may be indicated.