Can Calcium And Vitamin D Help You Lose Weight?

vitamin d supplementIf you are not getting enough calcium in your weight loss diet, adding a calcium and vitamin D supplement can help you lose body fat or so, suggests a new small research study.

The study compared women participants on a low fat diet over the course of 15 weeks.

Some of the women dieters took a calcium and vitamin D supplement, while others took a placebo or non-active version instead.

Differences between the groups seemed minimal at best, until the researchers looked at women whose intake of calcium had been very low—600 milligrams or less daily—before the study began. In those women, the supplement seemed to help the women lose more body fat, and seemed to help them crave fatty food less.

Researchers theorize that having adequate calcium and vitamin D may help prevent cravings. The recommended daily allowance of calcium for women ages 19 to 50 is 1,000 mg. per day.

If you are already consuming adequate calcium, supplementing to a greater degree is unlikely to have any weight loss benefit. If your intake is inadequate, however, as many women’s is, a supplement may help you with those last few stubborn pounds.