New guidelines from the Institute of Medicine and an enormous long-term study published in the British Medical Journal suggest a bottom line:

“many women may require no more than an additional 500-600 mg a day from calcium supplements [and should] get as much calcium as possible from dietary sources [including] low-fat dairy products and leafy greens, fortified foods such as fortified fruit juices and cereals, and types of fish that have bones in them, such as sardines and canned salmon…[but] women who had the highest intake of calcium (above 1100 mg a day) actually had a hint of increased risk for hip fracture…moderate levels of calcium intake were best for bone health and more [is] not better.”

You can read the full story and watch a presentation by JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, at:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/744565?src=mp&spon=17