Practical Applications of Statistics
We all remember being told as children to drink our milk so that we could grow strong bones by imbibing all of that calcium. But, while it is certainly true that calcium and Vitamin D important to bone health, the way to build healthy bones is in fact a far more complex process than simply drinking milk - and this is especially true for the elderly. This paper examines the importance of Vitamin D for the elderly, examining in particular the importance of Vitamin D for continued bone health into old age.
While the question of whether or not Vitamin D is an important part of the diet for the elderly is easy in some sense to answer - yes, it is - it is much more difficult to determine exactly how much calcium older adults need. This is due to the complex ways in which our bones are structured, the role that both calcium and phosphorus play in bone health, the interrelationship between the two elements, and how this is affected by Vitamin D.
The elements of calcium and phosphorus can be seen as mutually dependent nutrients that affect the health not only of bones but of the body's soft tissues as well. While both are necessary to bone health, they must be present in very precisely measured proportions to benefit rather than reduce bone health because phosphorus can at times actually impede the absorption of calcium. This is of especial importance because calcium phosphates are often used in multi-vitamins (as well as minerals) to form capsules.
Bone disease can occur when there are not proper levels of either calcium or phosphorus or when these two elements are not properly balanced and within good levels. One of the more common problems is that when phosphorus rise to too high a level, the human body removes calcium from the bones to bind with the phosphorus and remove this latter element from the blood. The resulting loss of calcium from the bones can result in their becoming brittle - ...