Calcium And Fat Loss!

By: Mauro Di Pasquale

Calcium, while generally considered a key element for maintaining bone density and strength, also has other health benefits including reducing blood pressure, and more importantly for both men and women in weight loss.

For example, calcium can also help lower your cholesterol. In a recent study, it was found that people with cholesterol levels in the high range of 240 to 260 reduced their total cholesterol by 6 percent when they took in an extra 1,800 milligrams of calcium a day.

And the best part is that LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol - the bad cholesterol that’s implicated in coronary artery disease, dropped by 11 percent. In addition, calcium has recently been inversely associated with the incidence of colorectal adenomas.

Calcium & Weight Loss

But there’s more. Calcium has also been shown to increase weight loss. A recent study found that an increase in dietary calcium intake, together with a normal protein intake, increased fecal fat and energy excretion by about 350 calories per day.

This observation may help explain why a high-calcium diet produces weight loss, and it suggests that an interaction with dietary protein level may be important.

Several studies have shown that calcium plays a key role in body weight regulation and especially on fat metabolism (with possible effects on lipolysis, fat oxidation, lipogenesis, energy expenditure, and appetite suppression) and thus is a useful supplement for those looking to decrease weight and body fat.

For example, Zemel et al (2002) looked at the effects of calcium supplements on obese adults who were dieting. They found that a high-calcium diet (1200-1300 mg/day) resulted in greater weight and fat loss in humans compared to a low-calcium diet (400-500 mg/day).

Another study published in November 2004 found that a high intake of calcium may hinder weight and fat regain. The study found that after putting mice on a low calorie diet and producing weight and body fat loss, that those on a low calcium diet regained their weight after 6 weeks.

However, for those on a high-calcium diet it was a different story. They found that the high-calcium diets produced significant increases in lipolysis, decreases in fatty acid synthase expression and activity, and reduced fat regain. They also found that increasing calcium through the use of dairy products had significantly greater effects on fat regain.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that increasing calcium intake is a boon to those who want to not only lose weight, but to lose fat, improve body composition, and keep that fat and weight from coming back.