Osteoporosis. Part III--Not just for bone loss: potential benefits of calcium and vitamin D for overall general health.

The potential benefits of dietary or supplemental calcium and vitamin D for osteoporosis prevention have been well reviewed. However, less well known is the potential of these two compounds to reduce the risk of recurrence of a number of overall general health conditions. For example, calcium may play a role in increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein, preventing colon polyp formation, reducing blood pressure in some hypertensive individuals, reducing kidney stone recurrence, promoting weight loss, and reducing the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Vitamin D may play a role in cancer prevention, provide synergism or enhancement to some chemotherapy protocols, prevent Type I diabetes, and along with calcium reduce the risk of tooth loss.