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According to a new review of clinical trials, increased intake of calcium supplements can reduce the risk of hypertension and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy.

This finding may lead to a review and probably revision of current recommendations like that of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 2002 that states: “Daily calcium supplementation has not been shown to prevent pre-eclampsia and, therefore, is not recommended.”

Pre-eclampsia is a condition wherein a pregnant woman experiences high blood pressures to the hypertensive range, and when excretion of protein in the urine becomes too high. This condition is responsible for about 60,000 deaths worldwide, affecting two to three per cent of all pregnancies

The new review is published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2006, Issue 3) and found that calcium supplementation was safe and a relatively inexpensive way to reduce blood pressure in women more likely to develop hypertension, as well as in women with low dietary calcium intake.

Read more at NutraIngredients.

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