Supplementing calcium burns more fat, a new meta-analysis finds.
Taking a dose of calcium for at least seven days increased fat oxidation by 11 percent, researchers from Northumbria University, UK report. This higher rate of fat release adds up to 8 pounds over the course of one year.
Previous research has found that higher calcium intakes are associated with a lower body mass. This data published in Obesity Reviews confirms that rather than implying a healthy lifestyle pattern, calcium intake increases fat burning and reduces fat absorption.
Data was pooled from eight studies that met their selection criteria, with only 3 studies relevant for acute supplementation. Likening the effects of caffeine consumption to these results, the authors report that calcium supplements promote a similar increase in metabolic rate.
The average amount of calcium linked with the improved weight loss is 958 mg, the researchers write. The results indicate that even after a one-time dose of calcium fat breakdown temporarily increases, but this is a tentative conclusion in need of further investigation, they explain.
In the current study, researchers found that calcium supplementation plays an active role in lowering body mass. While fat burning does increase from calcium, additional weight loss may be realized from elevated fat excretion. Calcium, they explain, reacts with dietary fat and bile found in the gut to form an insoluble soap which prevents fat from getting absorbed.
In addition to powering up fat burning, calcium sufficiency may reduce food intake. Researchers suggest that lower calcium status strengthens the drive to eat more. Propelled by biology, research has found that individuals with deficiency adopt calcium-seeking behaviors. Lower calcium may mean more food; more food means more calories, more calories means higher body weight.
Mineral sufficiency extends beyond just energy balance. “It was apparent,” the authors write, “that those with low calcium intakes at baseline gained the most benefit from calcium supplementation.”
Larger gains in fat loss were also seen when calcium supplementation was paired with a low-calorie diet. Adding to the mystery, the researchers reported that supplemental calcium was more effective than dairy calcium in bolstering metabolic rate. This, they report, could be a misrepresentation due to a small body of high quality research.
Calcium is intricately linked with Vitamin D metabolism as well as the parathyroid hormone (PTH). Higher intakes of calcium translate to lower levels of activated Vitamin D and PTH—two hormones that regulate blood calcium. High PTH can oppose fat oxidation. The authors site calcium’s ability to lower PTH and the active Vitamin D as one way that it may augment lipolysis (fat breakdown).
More research is needed to understand the role between calcium intake and fat burning. From the results the current meta-analysis, the authors conclude that regular “calcium intake increases fat oxidation, which may contribute to the fat loss benefits of a high-calcium, energy restricted diet.”
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Reference
Gonzalez JT et al. Effect of calcium intake on fat oxidation in adults: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. Obesity Reviews 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01013.
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