This ties in with the statistic that the average measurable bone loss of female meat-eaters at age 65 is 35 percent; versus the average measurable bone loss of female vegetarians at age 65 at 18 percent.

In any case, if you cut down on red meat and excessive diary products and move toward a low fat diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains, chicken and fish, you will also be following current recommendations for the prevention of both heart disease and cancer.

And if you are eating a low protein vegetable diet you will need a lot less calcium in your diet.

Calcium Supplements

Women with high protein diets should take 1,200 to 1,500mg of calcium a day combined with about half that amount of magnesium. I prefer to use liquid calcium-magnesium, or the powder or capsule form, as I think they are better absorbed. Calcium-magnesium supplements are best taken at bedtime, when they help you get a better sleep, and prevent the extra loss of calcium that can occur during the night.

It is also important to have adequate vitamin-D to make sure that the calcium is well absorbed. Unless you get lots of sunshine you should take at least 400 to 800 IU of vitamin-D along with the calcium. Two recent studies showed that women without adequate vitamin-D lost more bone, especially in the winter months.

A good source of trace minerals including boron, zinc, manganese and other minerals is also important for bone health.

Women on pure vegetarian diets (no meat or dairy) can probably take lesser amounts of calcium and magnesium; about 1,000mg of calcium and 500 or 600mg of magnesium.

High quality calcium-magnesium supplements include Natural Factors calcium-magnesium citrate capsules. Nu-life's Framework, Karuna's Osteonex, Osteoguard, Dr. Alan Gaby's OsteoPrime, Biotics Research's Osteo-B-Plus, P.H.P.'s Pro-Osteo and Osseous Complex, Klaire Lab's Osteo-Balance and Vitaplex Natural's calcium-magnesium boron effervescent powder. Mint flavoured calcium-magnesium liquid is also available.

Another calcium supplement called microcrystalline hydroxypatite is a high quality bone food that provides calcium in a readily available form. Several studies have shown that it may help increase bone mass as well.

In addition, especially for women having difficulty with calcium absorption, I recommend a high quality silica. This is an extract of horsetail that is very well absorbed, and which contains large amounts of the trace mineral silicon. It is claimed that the body naturally changes silica into calcium in a very efficient manner. Homeopathic calcium carbonate may also help increase the absorption of calcium.

Women who have weak digestion may have considerable difficulty absorbing calcium. For these women, good quality enzymes taken with each meal may substantially increase calcium absorption (see below). A supplement by Natur-pharm known as Cal-plex contains not only calcium but magnesium, boron, vitamin-C and hydrochloric acid (HCL).

Calcium Supplements Useful Even After Menopause

In the first five years following menopause, women can lose up to one to three percent of their bone mass per year. This initial loss of bone usually does not respond to calcium supplementation.

However, five years or more after the menopause, a new study has showed that the addition of 800mg of calcium citrate maleate (available in Canada as Calcium Citramate capsules from Thorne Research Canada) in the diets of women with low calcium intake helped prevent bone loss in the hip, wrist and spine. Calcium in the form of citrates or aspartates are the best absorbed of the calciums. Calcium carbonate, on the other hand, maintained bone mass at the hip and wrist, but not at the spine.

The best absorbable forms of magnesium are also the citrates or the aspartates.

Boron Also Is One Of The Key Minerals For Bone

Recent animal and human research into the trace mineral, boron, suggests that this little known element may play a key role in the prevention of osteoporosis.