NUTRITIONAL EFFECT OF CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTATION BY SKIM MILK POWDER OR CALCIUM TABLETS ON TOTAL NUTRIENT INTAKE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

The effect of different types of calcium supplements on total nutrient intake has not been studied. The effect of dietary calcium supplement ation (calcium tablets or skim milk powder) on nutrient intake in 64 p ostmenopausal women was studied in a 4-y longitudinal study consisting of 2 y of intervention and 2 y of follow-up. Subjects also received a dvice on how to reduce their consumption of high-fat and cholesterol-r ich foods. Analysis of 4-d weighed diet records at 1 y showed that cal cium intakes from the milk-powder supplement (1618 +/- 213 mg) and cal cium tablets (1718 +/- 257 mg) were above recommended dietary intakes (RDI), and dietary fat intake and plasma cholesterol were significantl y reduced compared with baseline values. The subjects supplemented wit h milk powder had higher intakes of several nutrients, including prote in and zinc, compared with the subjects given calcium tablets. A great er proportion of subjects using the milk-powder supplement achieved gr eater than or equal to 70% of the RDI for zinc compared with tablet-su pplemented subjects during the intervention study. Subjects were advis ed to continue with supplementation at the end of the intervention stu dy. Thirty-nine subjects were available for follow-up. The mean (+/- S D) calcium intake for the milk-powder group (942 +/- 434 mg) was below the RDI and significantly lower than that of the calcium-tablet group (1346 +/- 512 mg). These data suggest that advice on dietary calcium supplementation and fat reduction had a beneficial effect on the nutri ent intakes of postmenopausal women but compliance outside of a contro l trial by women taking calcium tablets was higher than that by women taking milk powder. Thus, strategies to encourage women to increase ca lcium intake can be introduced without significant deleterious effects on other aspects of the diet.