Dietary calcium better than supplements for bone health.
In a recent study, women who got most of their daily calcium from food had healthier bones than women whose calcium came mainly from supplemental tablets. Surprisingly, this was true even though the supplement takers had higher average calcium intake.
“Only about 35 percent of the calcium in most supplements ends up being absorbed by the body,” says senior author Reina Armamento-Villareal, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases and a bone specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Calcium from the diet is generally better absorbed, and this could be another reason that women who got a high percentage of calcium in their food had higher bone densities.”