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Milk before bed? Milk Does More

A few extra glasses of milk daily may be better than calcium supplements for postmenopausal women, who are often prone to osteoporosis. Scientists stumbled onto this while trying to determine if milk could be as effective as calcium carbonate supplements. Not only was the extra milk just as effective at retarding bone loss, but it did not suppress bone renewal, as the supplements tended to do.
By the way, a glass of warm milk before bed might be good for something more than just a good night's sleep: The body has to draw on the bones' calcium reserves at night, a critical loss for people prone to osteoporosis. Some scientists believe that an extra calcium boost before bed would forestall this loss. Other studies suggest that calcium could play a vital role in fortifying the body against heart disease and cancer. Researchers report that men whose diets were low in vitamin D and calcium had a colorectal cancer rate more than twice that of men who had a relatively high intake of these nutrients. And the February Journal of Nutrition cites a study indicating that calcium might discourage the formation of plaque in blood vessels. Just don't take too much vitamin D with your calcium: The same study warns that excessive levels of vitamin D might promote calcification, the deposition of calcium in the form of plaque.

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