Ask the doctor: Which supplements do I need?
However, calcium and vitamin D are very important for good health, and most women do not get enough of either in their diets. Women over age 65 need about 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium and about 800 IU of vitamin D daily to help maintain normal bone density. If your diet doesn't supply this much calcium, you should take a supplement to reach that daily amount. Sunlight and our skin provide us with all our vitamin D when we are younger. As we age, our skin becomes much less efficient in converting sunlight into vitamin D, and we need to take it as a supplement or in our food to get all we need.
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