Science on Tap to focus on impact of new dietary recommendations for calcium, Vitamin D
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University professor Connie Weaver will outline the impact of the new dietary recommendations for calcium and Vitamin D at the next Science on Tap beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 17).
Weaver's talk titled "Calcium and Vitamin D: How Much Do We Really Need?" will be in the upstairs of the Lafayette Brewing Company at 622 Main St. in downtown Lafayette. This Science on Tap, which is free and open to those 21 and older, is sponsored by Discovery Park and Purdue's Department of Foods and Nutrition.
"It is critical that Americans pay more attention to the amount of calcium they are consuming daily," said Weaver, an expert in mineral bioavailability, calcium metabolism and bone health. "Moving calcium from an adequate intake to a recommended dietary allowance signifies that our nation's top health experts believe we need to take calcium more seriously."
The 2010 Dietary Reference Intake recommendations, released by the Institute of Medicine in November, recommend that the average young adult consume 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day, and those over age 50 should consume 1,200 milligrams a day, Weaver said. That's the equivalent of eating a rich calcium source such as a dairy product at each meal.
In addition to products with milk, other foods such as orange juice are fortified with the mineral and calcium supplements are available, according to Weaver, a distinguished professor of foods and nutrition and head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition.
"'Upper Limits' of calcium and Vitamin D also were set by the Institute of Medicine to avoid risks of overconsumption that could cause kidney stones, and all cause mortality," Weaver said.
She said calcium intake is just part of the equation, however. "A well-balanced diet is essential because many nutrients work together. For example, the protein that shuttles calcium through the intestines to be delivered to the rest of the body is dependent on vitamin D."
Weaver was part of the 1997 team that established the calcium dietary reference intake guidelines, which are created with oversight by the Institute of Medicine and the Food and Nutrition Board. In the guidelines developed 13 years ago, Weaver said, calcium was classified in the adequate intake category because the research community didn't know enough.
Weaver was elected to the Institute of Medicine, which is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, in October. She also is deputy director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
She also was appointed to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2005 and served on the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board Panel to develop new requirement recommendations for calcium and related minerals.
Weaver, who has published more than 150 original research articles and 100 books, book chapters and reviews, received bachelor's and master's degrees in nutrition from Oregon State University in 1972 and 1974, respectively. She received a doctorate in food science and human nutrition from Florida State University in 1978.
The Science on Tap program, organized by postdoctoral biomedical engineering researchers Kate Stuart and John Paderi, provides Purdue faculty the opportunity to share their research activities in an informal setting and in a way that is designed to appeal to a more general audience. Attendance has ranged from 70 to 100 each month.
Writers: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Connie Weaver, 765-494-8237, weavercm@purdue.edu
Kate Stuart, 765-496-1460, kstuart@purdue.edu
John Paderi, 765-496-1460, jpaderi@purdue.edu
Related websites:
Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D