Calcium Before Extreme Training May Slow Bone Loss

It’s strange but true: exercise is not always good for your bones. Researchers have known for years, for example, that competitive road cyclists often suffer from a loss of bone density, probably because the body loses calcium during intense exercise and as blood calcium levels drop, the parathyroid gland produces excess parathyroid hormone, which can mobilize calcium from the skeleton. Now, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Sports Medicine, researchers have found that an exercise-induced decrease in blood calcium occurred whether calcium supplements were taken before or after exercising. but they also found that pre-exercise calcium resulted in less of a decrease. Read more in a news release from the Endocrine Society.