Abstract
In addition to its obvious structural role, the skeleton is an important reservoir of calcium, serving both to maintain plasma calcium concentrations and to make optimal use of ingested calcium. It serves both functions mainly by adjusting the balance between bone formation (which transfers mineral from blood to bone) and bone resorption (which transfers mineral from bone to blood). It is important to stress at the outset that calcium cannot generally be withdrawn from bone per se; instead, it is scavenged from the tearing down of structural bony units. Thus, reduction in skeletal calcium reserves is equivalent to reduction in bone mass, and augmentation of the reserve is equivalent to augmentation of bone mass.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Forbes RM, Weingartner KE, Parker HM, Bell RR, Erdman JW Jr. Bioavailability to rats of zinc, magnesium and calcium in casein-, egg-and soy protein-containing diets. J Nutr1979;109:1652–1660.
NIH Consensus Conference: Optimal Calcium Intake. J Am Med Assoc 1994;272:1942–1948.
Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press, Washington, DC: 1997.
Matkovic V, Heaney RP. Calcium balance during human growth. Evidence for threshold behavior. Am J Clin Nutr 1992;55:992–996.
Chapuy MC, Arlot ME, Duboeuf F, et al. Vitamin D3 and calcium to prevent hip fractures in elderly women. N Engl J Med 1992;327:1637–1642.
Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Krall EA, Dallal GE. Effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on bone density in men and women 65 years of age or older. N Engl J Med1997;337:670–676.
Heaney RP. Calcium, dairy products, and osteoporosis. J Am Coll Nutr 1999;19(2):83S–99S.
Orwoll ES, Oviatt SK, McClung MR, Deftos LJ, Sexton G. The rate of bone mineral loss in normal men and the effects of calcium and cholecalciferol supplementation. Ann Int Med 1990;112:29–34.
Nilas L, Christiansen C, Rødbro P. Calcium supplementation and postmenopausal bone loss. BMJ 1984;289:1103–1106.
Heaney RP. Nutrient effects: Discrepancy between data from controlled trials and observational studies. Bone 1997;21:469–471.
Barrett-Connor E. Diet assessment and analysis for epidemiologic studies of osteoporosis, In: Burckhardt P, Heaney RP, eds. Nutritional Aspects of Osteoporosis. Raven, New York, NY: 1991;91–98.
Beaton GH, Milner J, Corey P, McGuire V, Cousins M, Stewart E, et al. Sources of variance in 24-hour dietary recall data: implications for nutrition study design and interpretation. Am J Clin Nutr 1979;32:2446–2459
Heaney RP. Is the paradigm shifting? Bone 2003;33:457–465.
Recker RR, Lappe JM, Davies KM, Heaney RP. Bone remodeling increases substantially in the years after menopause and remains increased in older osteoporosis patients. J Bone Miner Res 2004;19:1628–1633.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Heaney, R.P. (2006). Bone as the Calcium Nutrient Reserve. In: Weaver, C.M., Heaney, R.P. (eds) Calcium in Human Health. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-961-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-961-5_2
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-452-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-961-5
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)