Vitamin D and calcium dysregulation in the polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Thys-Jacobs S, Donovan D, Papadopoulos A, Sarrel P, Bilezikian JP.
Department of Medicine, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia
University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY 10019, USA.
Over the past 30 years, numerous studies in invertebrates and vertebrates have
established a role of calcium in oocyte maturation as well as in the
resumption and progression of follicular development. Polycystic ovarian
syndrome (PCO) is characterized by hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation, theca
cell hyperplasia, and arrested follicular development. The aim of this
observational study was to determine whether vitamin D and calcium
dysregulation contribute to the development of follicular arrest in women with
PCO, resulting in reproductive and menstrual dysfunction. Thirteen
premenopausal women (mean age 31 +/- 7.9 years) with documented chronic
anovulation and hyperandrogenism were evaluated. Four women were amenorrheic
and nine had a history oligomenorrhea, two of whom had dysfunctional bleeding.
Nine had abnormal pelvic sonograms with multiple ovarian follicular cysts. All
were hirsute, two had alopecia, and five had acanthosis nigricans. The mean 25
hydrovitamin D was 11.2 +/- 6.9 ng/ml [normal (nl): 9-52], and the mean 1,25
dihydroxyvitamin D was 45.8 +/- 18 pg/ml. with one woman with a 1,25
dihydroxyvitamin D <5 pg/ml (nl: 15-60). The mean intact parathyroid hormone
level was 47 +/- 19 pg/ml (nl: 10-65), with five women with abnormally
elevated parathyroid hormone levels. All were normocalcemic (9.3 +/- 0.4
mg/dl). Vitamin D repletion with calcium therapy resulted in normalized
menstrual cycles within 2 months for seven women, with two experiencing
resolution of their dysfunctional bleeding. Two became pregnant, and the other
four patients maintained normal menstrual cycles. These data suggest that
abnormalities in calcium homeostasis may be responsible, in part, for the
arrested follicular development in women with PCO and may contribute to the
pathogenesis of PCO.
I actually posted a very similar article on the role of vitamin D for PCOS by Dr. Mercola. I think he was referring to the study you mentioned KC1.
It seems that increasing vitamin D and calcium levels help balance menstrual cycles in women with PCOS.
So women with PCOS ( and women in general) should take a calcium and vitamin D supplement every day. I would also add some magnesium which is a very important mineral for hormonal balance, sugar balance, energy and balancing out calcium.
The best type of Vitamin D is cholecalciferol. The best type of calcium is calcium citrate/malate and the best type of magnesium is magnesium glycinate ( although you shouldn't take magnesium glycinate before bed), magnesium citrate is also good.
I added calcium/magnesium/zinc and vitamin D to my supplements list this cycle. So in two months I shoud see the results. Cool!
__________________ Sondra 37 DH 41
TTC since 09/00
Dx PCOS on 01/02
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Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming...
I had never heard of this connection, but I work in a university hospital, in the department of bone and mineral metabolism, with a bunch of doctors who treat people with various kinds of bone diseases. One of our doctors told me that some of the things I'd heard about how to take calcium were not so.
For example, I had always heard not to take more than 500mg at a time, but he said nah, you can take it all at once if you want to. He also told me:
Do not take calcium with your other medications, because it can bind to them and reduce their effectiveness.
Do not take it with food, but preferably on an empty stomach (contrary to what I'd always heard).
Take it at bedtime if you can (i.e. if you don't have other meds you take at bedtime)
Plain ole Tums is as good a supplement as any, for most things, so long as you get Vitamin D from somewhere (I take a multivitamin, too).
Vitamin D is apparently very very very good for bone metabolism, and I know it has something to do with parathyroid, so maybe it's just as crucial for PCOS?
Where it says "1,25" this is doctor-speak for "Vitamin D" -- or actually, it's sort of "pre-Vitamin-D".
Here's what Dr. Weil says about Tums and Calcium...
Take Tums for Your Calcium?
"I have been told I should not be taking Tums as a source of calcium. Can you explain why? "
-- Elizabeth MacKay
(Published 08/21/1997)
Most people -- especially women -- don't get nearly the amount of calcium they need by drinking milk, eating yogurt or slurping ice cream. In fact, a recent National Institutes of Health study estimated that the average American consumes only about half of what he or she should. And on August 13, the National Academy of Sciences raised the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for calcium to 1,000 mg from 800 mg, encouraging people to be conscious of getting more calcium. As many of you know, calcium is very important in reducing bone loss as you age, particularly if you're a woman, and in improving your resilience against heart disease, high blood pressure and colon cancer. It's also an important regulator of nerve and muscle function.
You're not too young to take calcium even as a teenager: One study of 94 adolescent white girls averaging 12 years old found bone-building to be significantly greater in those who took calcium supplements compared to those who didn't. Researchers are increasingly becoming convinced that greater bone mass in adulthood lowers the risk of osteoporosis problems later in life. Calcium isn't just for women, either: I recommend it also for men starting in their mid-forties who want to protect against bone loss.
Tums are basically mint-flavored chalk, or calcium carbonate. While it is certainly usable as a calcium source, calcium carbonate is not the most easily absorbed form of calcium. The concern is whether calcium supplements actually get into the system; that's why I recommend calcium citrate, the form most easily absorbed, rather than Tums. I don't think there's anything wrong with Tums, but there are better ways to get your calcium.
I recommend 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium citrate taken at bedtime. You can buy calcium citrate as a pill, a chewable or a powder or tablet that dissolves in water for a pleasant, bone-boosting drink. I usually recommend natural products, but in this case, you may be better off with the synthetic variety -- in one study, calcium from oyster shells, the mineral dolomite and bone meal all contained significant amounts of lead and other toxic heavy metals.
Calcium citrate delivers half the amount of calcium as calcium carbonate, so you need to take twice as many tablets. And the antacids are generally a lot cheaper than packaged supplements. Some people would rather risk the absorption problem for the price. And Tums has made quite a market out of its use. Six Tums antacids a day would provide 1,200 milligrams of elemental calcium. Don't take them with meals, however, because fiber and starch bind the calcium and makes it unavailable to your body.
I would skip calcium phosphate (which is particularly hard for the body to absorb), calcium lactate and calcium gluconate.
You always want to take magnesium with calcium in order to avoid constipation and to balance its influence on the electrical impulses in the nerves and muscles. Calcium is constipating; magnesium is a laxative. They work together as mild neuromuscular relaxants. If you take your calcium at bedtime, complement it with half the same amount of magnesium. Some formulas also contain vitamin D, which promotes the absorption of calcium. This is fine as long as they don't give you more than 400 IU of vitamin D a day.
Remember that calcium loss is promoted by a high-protein diet. If you're worried about your bones and about osteoporosis, cut back on the meat in your diet. Salt, caffeine, sodas and alcohol rob calcium from your bones, too. In addition, the best way to preserve your bone density, protect against calcium loss and protect against osteoarthritis has to do not with what you put in your body, but with what you do with it. Weight-bearing exercise is the very best thing you can do for your bones. That includes running, dancing and using aerobic machines, as well as lifting weights. Three hours a week of weight-bearing exercise can decrease bone loss by 75 percent.
I'm sure calcium citrate is perfectly okay to take, too. I just don't think that the faculty in the department where I work, MDs and PhDs who do clinical research on Vitamin D and on Parathyroid and on Bone Metabolism, and who publish papers on the subject, are *wrong* about Tums being an acceptable form of calcium supplement.
No disrespect to Dr. Weil, but these folks publish papers in peer-reviewed medical journals.
xmelinda...it's not that Tums is not an acceptable form of calcium which it is...it's just that calcium carbonate is poorly absorbed compared to other types of calcium.
People under 40 years old can take calcium carbonate but over 40 your body doesn't make enough hydrochloric acid to absorb calcium carbonate which is why calcium citrate is prefered.
Also, I'm 24 and have taken calcium carbonate in the past which gave me a stomach upset...I don't get this with the citrate version.
When you spend money on supplements...and everyone knows they are not cheap, that last thing you want is not to absorb them and when you take calcium carbonate, you're kinda guessing: will my body take it or not? You might do just fine with it, or you might not. This is why taking a proven high absorbable form is prefered.
This goes for any other supplement as well. If you take magnesium oxide for example which is a cheap poorly absorbed form of magnesium, you are also taking the chance of not absorbing it and not deriving the full benefits of it.
VitaminD & Calcium 
