Calcium Doesn't Directly Help Weight Loss

So here's a bummer for the dairy industry: contrary to what they would advertise in "Milk your diet. Lose weight!!" increasing your calcium intake doesn't help you burn more fat. 

The 20-week study, conducted by researchers from Switzerland's University of Lausanne and the Nestle Research Center, included 10 overweight or obese people identified before recruitment whose regular diets were low in calcium.

Study participants were randomly assigned to be given either placebo or 800 milligrams of dairy calcium daily for two five-week periods, separated by a 10-week washout phase.

Four weeks into the supplementation phases of the study, researchers performed a battery of tests designed to examine the impact of calcium on fat metabolism.

The tests revealed no differences between the people taking the placebo and the calcium in any of these measures, including resting energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and plasma-free fatty acid concentrations.

In addition, expression of seven key metabolic genes in biopsied fat tissue was not affected by calcium supplementation.

But that's not to say there are still very valid benefits to eating cheeses and drinking milk! It just means that this, like pretty much everything else, is not a quick-fix for your weight. It takes eating a moderate, balanced diet, and exercising! No excuses.

TC