Calcium News and Research

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Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids). Calcium is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system. The body strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids, though less than <1% of total body calcium is needed to support these functions.

The remaining 99% of the body's calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. Bone itself undergoes continuous remodeling, with constant resorption and deposition of calcium into new bone. The balance between bone resorption and deposition changes with age. Bone formation exceeds resorption in growing children, whereas in early and middle adulthood both processes are relatively equal. In aging adults, particularly among postmenopausal women, bone breakdown exceeds formation, resulting in bone loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis over time.

Skin-healing pseudoceramides

Researchers report in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that they have made synthetic lipids called pseudoceramides that are involved in skin cell growth and could be used in treating skin diseases in which skin cells grow abnormally.

29 Aug 2007

Imported Indian toothpaste a cause for concern again in Canada

The latest food scare to hit North America emanates this time over products imported from India rather than China.

28 Aug 2007

Calcium for the over-50s prevents broken bones

Australian scientists say people over the age of 50 should take supplements of calcium in order to reduce the risk of bone damage should they fall.

27 Aug 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism

A team of researchers investigating cholesterol and lipid transport has performed experiments that cast serious doubt on the dominant hypothesis of how the body rids its cells of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and increases "good" cholesterol (HDL).

17 Aug 2007

Healthy eating for type 2 diabetes

Myths abound when it comes to diabetes and food - one of the most common being that there is a "diabetes diet" that prohibits sugar and other items.

16 Aug 2007

Drug to treat cluster headaches may affect the heart

Researchers are warning that a drug increasingly being used to prevent cluster headaches can cause heart problems.

14 Aug 2007

That pot belly puts you at risk of heart disease

According to researchers in the U.S. people with pot bellies are more at risk of having heart disease than those whose fat is spread evenly over the rest of their body.

14 Aug 2007

Why is heart disease so prevalent among diabetics?

Heart disease hits people with diabetes twice as often as people without diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

Metabolic cell activity directly controls life and death decisions in cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that proteins known to promote cell death are also necessary for the maturation and proliferation of immune cells.

13 Aug 2007

Milk the drink for more muscle but less fat

According to Canadian scientists drinking two glasses of milk after exercise helps burn more fat and develop more muscle mass.

12 Aug 2007

Milk is the ideal post-workout drink for recreational exercisers and athletes

Part of an ongoing study into the impact of drinking milk after heavy weightlifting has found that milk helps exercisers burn more fat.

9 Aug 2007

Potential new ways to prevent smoking-related cellular damage

In the current issue of PLoS One, researchers show how a poorly understood and previously unsuspected mechanism may be the key to understanding how life-style associated forms of oxidative stress, such as exposure to cigarette smoke, damage cells in the lungs.

7 Aug 2007

Age is important in HRT use

Five years ago this summer the National Institutes of Health's stopped early a major portion of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a large and ambitious study to address the most common causes of death, disability and impaired quality of life in postmenopausal women.

3 Aug 2007

Hip resurfacing may delay hip replacement

In the world of prosthetic hips, what was old is new again. A procedure known as hip resurfacing, once tried two to three decades ago, is experiencing a resurgence in the U.S., thanks to improved technology.

3 Aug 2007

Genta and Emisphere Technologies file investigational new drug exemption

Genta Inc. and Emisphere Technologies, Inc. have jointly announced the submission of an Investigational New Drug Exemption (IND) to the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new drug known as G4544.

2 Aug 2007

Cell injury caused by brushing may help keep gums healthy

One way regular brushing may help keep gums firm and pink is, paradoxically, by tearing open cells, researchers have found.

2 Aug 2007

Baby boomers are starting to feel the aches, pains and weight gain of aging

Because they, like others, want to feel younger for longer, food companies and food researchers are striving to meet their needs. Increased amounts of nutritional supplements and antioxidants, including calcium, vitamin D and zinc, can slow the rate of age-related disease and increase the number of healthy years, according Jeffrey Blumberg, a nutrition scientist at Tufts University and speaker here at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo.

1 Aug 2007

Goats' milk healthier than cows' milk

Research carried out at the Department of Physiology of the University of Granada has revealed that goats milk has more beneficial properties to health than cows milk.

1 Aug 2007

Trans fats offer a double whammy

Along with the knowledge that 'trans fats' are particularly bad because they clog up arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks comes new information which makes them even more undesirable.

31 Jul 2007

New WHO report on environmental hazards and child health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says millions of children die each year because of environmental hazards and one in five children in the poorest parts of the world will not reach their sixth birthday, mainly because of environment-related diseases.

30 Jul 2007