Amalia E. Yanni
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University Athens, Greece

Calcium (Ca) and vitamin D are the most frequently studied micronutrients in the clinical research field of bone health. Administered in combination or separately, in the form of supplements or added to food vehicles, exert beneficial effects in parameters such as bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover markers (BTM) and risk of fracture. Certainly, searching Pubmed for all studies using the terms “bone AND fortified food AND clinical trial” 124 articles are presented. When studies are restricted to those in the English language, original (not reviews) long-term studies (not acute) concerning dietary interventions with fortified foods in adult subjects, 30 publications can be isolated. In more than half (53%) of these trials, the target population is postmenopausal women. The rest involve premenopausal women and older adults of both genders. There are a few studies in iron deficient women, type II diabetic patients and hyperlipidemic patients. In the vast majority of the studies dairy products are selected as food vehicles which are fortified with Ca and/or vitamin D. The design of the study allowed the use of juice, beverages, bread and cereal snacks in some cases. The am ...