The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health, developed the DASH plan to reduce blood pressure, finding that blood pressure went down after only two weeks of being on the diet. Since the initial studies, researchers have found the DASH plan may offer other health benefits, too, such as protection against osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.The DASH plan is especially effective in reducing blood pressure in blacks and older adults. In addition, if adopted early, the DASH plan can prevent hypertension.
The DASH plan is especially effective in reducing blood pressure in blacks and older adults. In addition, if adopted early, the DASH plan can prevent hypertension.

The DASH eating plan is rich in grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. It also includes fish, poultry and legumes. Red meat, sweets and fats are included in smaller amounts. This variety means the DASH plan is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, total fat, and sodium while rich in protein, fiber and healthy nutrients, particularly magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet. A deficit can affect bone and tooth formation, while overretention can cause kidney stones. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium.Calcium is one of the most important minerals for the growth, maintenance, and reproduction of the human body. Calcium is essential for the formation of and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones.It is also important for blood clotting.

The bones incorporate calcium into their structure. The teeth and bones contain the majority of the body's calcium (about 99%). Like other tissues in the body, bones are continuously being reabsorbed and re-formed. Teeth incorporate calcium in their structure in a manner similar to bones.Calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of bones and teeth, and calcium requirements must be met throughout life. Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures. Calcium has also been found to assist in the production of lymphatic fluids.

Calcium has other functions in addition to maintaining healthy teeth and bones. Blood coagulation, transmission of nerve impulses, muscle contraction and relaxation, normal heartbeat, stimulation of hormone secretion, activation of enzyme reactions, and other functions all require small amounts of calcium.

In the life of a human bone, it's all downhill after 30.That's the typical cut-off point for bone-building, so experts say it's crucial that younger people take in enough calcium and another nutrient, vitamin D, to maximize the skeleton's potential.
After age 30, those same two nutrients are key to slowing the gradual bone loss that comes with age.

Calcium isn't just important to bones, though.

"It's also important to help prevent colon cancer and for good muscle contraction, including heart muscle," said Katharine Tallmadge, a Washington, D.C., dietitian and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "It might even be important for lowering blood pressure and helping to burn off fat."

In fact, calcium is so important to so many aspects of health that "if we don't get enough in our diet, our body pulls it from the bones," Tallmadge said. "It's a critical mineral."

The most important thing about milk is that it's one of the few sources of vitamin D and calcium for children," he notes. "Putting vitamin D fortification into milk has reduced the incidence of rickets in a lot of children, however, for kids who don't drink much milk, rickets is a real threat."Most women 19 and older - including those who are pregnant - don't often get the daily 1,000 mg of calcium that's recommended. Because your growing baby's calcium demands are high, you should increase your calcium consumption to prevent a loss of calcium from your own bones. Your doctor will also likely prescribe prenatal vitamins for you, which may contain some extra calcium.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommended daily allowance of calcium amounts to about 1,000 milligrams a day for adults ages 19 to 50 years of age and 1,200 milligrams a day for adults over 50. While many people turn to supplements for their calcium, Tallmadge said food is always a better bet.

"I encourage people to get three high-dairy foods per day, each containing about a third of the daily requirement" she said. "That could be a cup of milk, fortified soy milk, fortified orange juice, a cup of yogurt, one-and-a-half ounces of hard cheese." Lactose-intolerant individuals should still be able to consume skim or lactate-free varieties of milk, or they can turn to fortified non-dairy products.

There are also calcium-laden food sources besides dairy products -- such as grains and vegetables -- but it's tougher for the body to get enough of the nutrient from these foods, Tallmadge said.

Bone-building doesn't rely just on calcium, however.

"The really other important factor here is vitamin D -- it's just as important, if not more important, than calcium," Tallmadge said. Without this nutrient, the body's intestines simply cannot absorb dietary calcium.

There's one big hitch, though: Vitamin D isn't found naturally in most foods. Instead, human skin uses ultraviolet sunlight to manufacture the body's own supply of this nutrient.

That was a great system in prehistoric days, when humans spent most of their lives outside and poorly clad. But it's not so ideal today.

"People aren't out so much anymore and when they do go out, they cover themselves with sunscreen," Tallmadge said. "So, we are experiencing a rash of vitamin D deficiencies -- rickets -- in children. That causes a softening of bones that can lead to bow-legs."

The problem is more pronounced in black children because natural pigments in darker skin block out much of the sun's rays. The problem has gotten so bad, Tallmadge said, that "the U.S. National Academy of Sciences is now working on a new report on vitamin D, and I believe that, unofficially, we're going to double the daily requirement from 400 units to 800 or even 1,000 units per day."

Spending more time outside -- at least a half hour or an hour at midday -- is one way of boosting vitamin D levels. Foods and supplements can also help, according to Tallmadge. "In a cup of milk, you usually get 100 units, and in a multivitamin, you might get 300 or 400 units," she said. Makers of multivitamins are now formulating higher-dose supplements based on the expected change in daily requirements, she added.

The bottom line is that everyone needs to get adequate daily amounts of both of these "partners in health," calcium and vitamin D, beginning in childhood and continuing throughout the life span.

"After our 30s, that will really help to prevent bone loss," Tallmadge said. "And remember, those losses start to really accelerate after our 50s."