Do you really need calcium & vitamin D supplements?

For many of us, popping a daily calcium or vitamin D supplement is as routine as a morning coffee. However, a recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association turned up the surprising finding that these supplements may not significantly reduce the risk of bone fractures in adults over 50. So should we be ditching them all together? Not quite, says Osteoporosis Australia Medical Director Professor Peter Ebeling. “If you’ve been directed to take supplements then you should continue to do so,” he advises. “For adults over 50 who don’t get exposed to enough sunlight or have a low calcium intake, there is evidence that supplementation does help. And the other group that are proven to benefit are those with osteoporosis.”