Taking Calcium on Time influences Bone Density

A new study has revealed that consuming calcium and vitamin D before exercise could influence the bones to adapt to exercise.
Author Vanessa D. Sherk, PhD. Postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus points out in her study that the timing of calcium supplementation and not only just the dosage is important for letting the human skeleton adapt to exercise training.

The study had included 52 men aged 18 to 45 years, and it was found that the exercise induced decrease in blood calcium whether calcium supplements were taken before or after exercising. It was however found that the pre-exercise supplementation did result in less of a decrease. The parathyroid hormone levels were found to have increased slightly less among cyclists who took calcium before exercising.

Dr. Sherk said, "Taking calcium before exercise may help keep blood levels more stable during exercise, compared to taking the supplement afterwards, but we do not yet know the long-term effects of this on bone density."

Furthermore, the timing of the supplementation did not cause a difference in blood levels of a compound which is a biological indicator of bone loss.

Both the before- and after-exercise groups exhibited 50-percent increases in the level of this compound, called CTX, for collagen type-1 C-telopeptide.

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