Whether calcium or vitamin D can indeed improve cholesterol levels has been debated. And studies of women taking the combination could not separate the effects of calcium from those of vitamin D on cholesterol<\/strong>. But this study, led by NAMS Board of Trustees member Peter F. Schnatz, DO, NCMP, is helping to settle those questions because it looked both at how a calcium and vitamin D supplement changed cholesterol levels and how it affected blood levels of vitamin D in postmenopausal women.<\/p>\n Daily, the women in the WHI CaD trial took either a supplement containing 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D3 or a placebo. This analysis looked at the relationship between taking supplements and levels of vitamin D and cholesterol in some 600 of the women<\/strong> who had both their cholesterol levels and their vitamin D levels measured.<\/p>\n The women who took the supplement were more than twice as likely to have vitamin D levels of at least 30 ng\/mL (normal according to the Institute of Medicine) as were the women who took the placebo. Supplement users also had low-density lipoprotein (LDL — the “bad” cholesterol) levels that were between 4 and 5 points lower<\/strong>. The investigators discovered, in addition, that among supplement users, those with higher blood levels of vitamin D had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL — the “good” cholesterol) and lower levels of triglycerides<\/strong> (although for triglycerides to be lower, blood levels of vitamin D had to reach a threshold of about 15 ng\/mL).<\/p>\n Taking the calcium and vitamin D supplements was especially helpful in raising vitamin D levels in women who were older, women who had a low intake, and women who had levels first measured in the winter — what you might expect. But lifestyle also made a difference. The supplements also did more to raise vitamin D levels in women who did not smoke and who drank less alcohol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Whether these positive effects of supplemental calcium and vitamin D on cholesterol will translate into benefits such as lower rates of cardiovascular disease for women after menopause remains to be seen, but these results, said the authors, are a good reminder that women at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency should consider taking calcium and vitamin D<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “The results of this study should inspire even more women to be conscientious about their calcium and vitamin D intake — a simple and safe way to improve health. One action can lead to multiple benefits!” says NAMS Executive Director Margery Gass, MD.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The study, “Calcium\/vitamin D supplementation, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and cholesterol profiles in the Women’s Health Initiative calcium\/vitamin D randomized trial,” will be published in the August 2014 print edition of Menopause<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) media release: Calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause can improve women’s cholesterol profiles. And much of that effect is tied to… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[321,10,339,336],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16449,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16446\/revisions\/16449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"menopause](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/menopause_woman.jpg\")
<\/a>Calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause can improve women’s cholesterol profiles<\/strong>. And much of that effect is tied to raising vitamin D levels, finds a new study from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) just published online in Menopause<\/em>, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).<\/p>\n