itamin D helps the body absorb and retain calcium, which is critical for building strong, healthy bones.

Vitamin D deficiency has often been linked to osteoporosis, a condition that affects more than 10 million Americans and threatens 34 million others

Eating soy-based foods slows down osteoporosis in women after menopause, according to researchers.

Bone loss is particularly quick in women during the five to seven years after menopause when a drop-off in estrogen levels may cause them to lose up to 5 percent of bone mass yearly, the report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said

Eating soy-based foods slows down osteoporosis in women after menopause, according to researchers.

Bone loss is particularly quick in women during the five to seven years after menopause when a drop-off in estrogen levels may cause them to lose up to 5 percent of bone mass yearly, the report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said

A recent study at The OregonHealth and Science University has shown that a potentform of Vitamin D may help men dying of prostatecancer extend their lives by upwards of seven months.The study considered men who had advanced tumorsgrowing despite having undergone surgery, radiation orsubsequent drug treatments. In such cases, patientsare given the chemotherapy drug, docetaxel. When the experimental vitamin DN-101 was taken withthe chemotherapy, patients increased their expectancyrates by roughly two years.A two-year survival "is the highest ever seen in arandomized study," said Dr. Bruce Montgomery, aSeattle Cancer Care Alliance prostate cancer expertwho was not involved in the research. "It clearly is abig step forward."Researchers know DN-101 adds at least seven months tothe average survival rate, but they can't yetcalculate the new median life expectancy because halfthe men who took the vitamin for the study are stillalive.The treatment "has a lot of guys I see every daygetting a meaningful chunk of extra time, without anyextra side effect," said Dr. Tomasz Beer, the OHSUCancer Institute scientist who helped develop thedrug.The study folllowed 250 men who were randonly assignedto receive docetaxel alone or along with DN-101. Themedian survival rate of those who took the chemo drugalone was 16.4 months. An additional 7.1 monthsminimum was added to those who combined the chemo andthe vitamin.Beer says the study is big enough to indicate thepills extend life, but it is not big enough to proveDN-101 is market-ready."That will take a study with about 600 men," he added.According to the AP, if DN-101 makes it to market,OHSU stands to profit. The university licensed thedrug to Novacea in 2002, getting payments includingstock in the privately held company and royalties onany sales of the drug

Two independent British studies have come to the same conclusion, that taking supplements of vitamin D and calcium, alone or together, to prevent broken bones is inneffective and likely a waste of time and money. The news is discouraging to senior citizens who struggle to fend off the devastating side effects of osteoporosis and debilitating fractures. In the first study, whose results are published in The Lancet April 27, split 5,292 subjects aged 70+, who had suffered a fracture in the previous 10 years, into groups that were given daily doses of vitamin D3, calcium, a combination of both or placebos. The test subjects were followed over two to five years to see if people getting the supplements had fewer new bone fractures. But the study concluded that there was no real difference in rate of new fractures between the groups. The study did not consider those who take calcium in combination with bisphosphonates. The second trial results, which are published in the British Medical Journal, examined 3,314 UK women aged 70+ with one or more risk factors for potential hip fractures. The women were followed for 18 to 42 months to see if one group had higher incidence of news hip fractures. The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the two groups