Calcium for Fat Loss

A meta-analysis of seven clinical trials reveals that taking calcium may yield a weight loss of around 1.5 kilograms per year, compared with a placebo. In addition, a daily dose of 1,000 milligrams of calcium led to a small but significant reduction in bodyfat of about two kilograms per year. 

Researchers from Peninsula Medical School at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom suggest that calcium encourages the body to shed fat by modulating the levels of 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D—the active form of the vitamin—which in turn stimulates the breakdown of fat and inhibits the action of fat cells. Reporting that their review “revealed a small, significant reduction in bodyweight for calcium compared with placebo,” as well as a “small, significant reduction in bodyfat favoring calcium over placebo,” the researchers concluded that the “evidence from randomized clinical trials suggests calcium supplementation generates small, statistically significant weight loss in overweight and obese individuals.”

Onakpoya, I.J., et al. (2011). Efficacy of calcium supplementation for management of overweight and obesity: systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Nutrition Reviews. 69(6):335–343.

Vitamins and Minerals May Prevent

Age-Related Diseases

While severe deficiency of the vitamins and minerals required for life is relatively uncommon in developed nations, modest deficiency is very common in the United States and Europe. Researchers from the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California examined moderate selenium and vitamin K deficiencies to show how damage accumulates over time as a result of vitamin and mineral loss, leading to age-related diseases.  

Compiling and assessing several general types of scientific evidence, they tested whether selenium-dependent proteins that are essential from an evolutionary perspective are more resistant to selenium deficiency than those that are less essential. They discovered a highly sophisticated array of mechanisms at the cellular and tissue levels that protect essential selenium-dependent proteins at the expense of those that are nonessential when selenium is limited. They also found that mutations in selenium-dependent proteins that are lost in a modest selenium deficiency result in characteristics shared by age-related diseases including cancer, heart disease, and loss of immune or brain function. 

The researchers believe that their results will lead future attempts to link vitamin and mineral deficiencies to age-related diseases to focus on the vitamin and mineral-dependent proteins that are nonessential from an evolutionary perspective. They conclude, “Modest [selenium] deficiency is common in many parts of the world; optimal intake could prevent future disease.”

McCann, J.C., and Ames, B.N.  (2011). Adaptive dysfunction of selenoproteins from the perspective of the triage theory: why modest selenium deficiency may increase risk of diseases of aging. FASEB J. 25:1793-1814.

—Dr. Bob Goldman

www.WorldHealth.net

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Dr. Robert M. Goldman MD, PhD, DO, FAASP has spearheaded the development of numerous international medical organizations and corporations. Dr. Goldman has served as a Senior Fellow at the Lincoln Filene Center, Tufts University; as an Affiliate at the Philosophy of Education Research Center, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, He is Clinical Consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea Medical University; and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Central America Health Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Goldman holds the positions of Visiting Professor, Udayana University School of Medicine, Indonesia; Visiting Professor, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Tong Ji Medical School, China; Visiting Professor, The Wuhan Institute of Science & Technology, China; Visiting Professor at Hainan Medical College, China; and Visiting Professor, School of Anti-Aging, Aesthetics and Regenerative Medicine, UCSI University, Malaysia. Dr. Goldman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Sports Physicians and a Board Diplomat in Sports Medicine and Board Certified in Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Goldman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Sports Physicians and a Board Diplomat in Sports Medicine and Board Certified in Anti-Aging Medicine. He has overseen cooperative research agreement development programs in conjunction with such prominent institutions as the American National Red Cross, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, and the FDA’s Center for Devices & Radiological Health.

Dr Goldman was awarded the 2012 LifeTime Achievement Award in Medicine &Science. Dr. Goldman is the recipient of the ‘Gold Medal for Science, the Grand Prize for Medicine, the Humanitarian Award, and the Business Development Award. He received honors from Minister of Sports and government Health officials of numerous nations. In 2001, Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch awarded Dr. Goldman the International Olympic Committee Tribute Diploma for contributions to the development of sport & Olympism.

In addition, Dr. Goldman is a black belt in karate, Chinese weapons expert, and world champion athlete with over 20 world strength records, he has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Some of his past performance records include 13,500 consecutive situps and 321 consecutive handstand pushups. Dr. Goldman was an All-College athlete in four sports, a three time winner of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Physical Fitness Award, was voted Athlete of the Year, was the recipient of the Champions Award, and was inducted into the World Hall of Fame of Physical Fitness. Dr. Goldman was awarded the Healthy American Fitness Leader Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Goldman is Chairman of the International Medical Commission overseeing sports medicine committees in over 184 nations. He has served as a Special Advisor to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. He is founder and international President Emeritis of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the cofounder and Chairman of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M). Dr. Goldman visits an average of 20 countries annually to promote brain research and sports medicine programs.