We have always been told that calcium is an essential part of our daily diet. I remember being in infant school and being made to drink a mini bottle of milk each day to stay healthy. These results were not far from the truth. You see we need three glasses a day to get the daily intake of calcium in milk. What is surprising is that it turns out - milk is not that high in calcium when you compare it to other food items. Which also includes other essential items to our diet such as cheeses, cream and yogurt.

Yogurt has always been associated with low-fat diets is thought of as one of the best products to consume to help lose weight. Yogurt not only offers you a low calorie count, but it also adds calcium to your body – which is a win win situation. You see without calcium our bones tend to degenerate. This is why a lot of older women tend to need a calcium supplement to prevent conditions such as osteoporosis. One study even concluded that a high calcium diet for those with diabetes showed a significant weight loss for them.

Another study showed that when you take a calcium supplement you are more likely to lose weight. The question you may be asking is why ? because I was very keen to know when I heard about this. How can calcium affect our weight this much ? As most people who have dieted – will remember having to avoid the cheese and dairy aisles when shopping.

According to studies calcium affects the ability of your fat stores. When you exercise you will burn calories as well as fat, while producing muscle. This means that if calcium helps your fat stores burn during exercise you will lose weight.

To look at it another way. The calcium is good for making strong bones. Part of the calcium’s job is to infiltrate the fat stores of your body. So if you are exercising regularly you will be burning the fat you have on your body. The calcium will help break down this fat during this exercise so you will burn more fat with calcium than you would if you were not taking in any.

The important thing to understand when you are looking at calcium as the weight loss secret of the century is that you are partaking of the correct calcium. There is a high fat calcium and a low fat calcium diet. Low fat calcium is the only type of calcium that can actually help you lose weight.

The high fat calcium will actually increase your fat stores rather than to help you get rid of them. This is why studies have shown low fat yogurt, low fat milk, and other low fat dairy products are important for you to lose weight. If you drink high fat milk chances are you are only going to gain weight with the more you drink. So choosing the appropriate calcium intake is going to determine the effectiveness of your diet.

There are of course other concerns you should have when you are trying to lose weight. For one thing is you are loosing weight very quickly chances are you are going to have bone loss. So you will definitely want to have calcium as part of your diet to help the bone loss. Also exercise is important for any diet. You can eat less food, but unless you exercise and begin to eat the right foods your diet will not stick with you. A lot of people go on crash diets only to be disappointed that the effects did not remain after a few months of resuming their normal eating habits.

While there are many things you can do to lose weight you need to be cautious and speak with a doctor. A dietician will help you plan your course for weight loss. They may even suggest diet books to follow for your meals. Others may simply ask you to calorie count as well as exercise at least three times a week. They will also mention that calcium is an important part of your diet whether you decide to use a calcium supplement or eat foods with low fat calcium.

Calcium may be a weight loss secret, but more importantly it can really help you. You have to follow other guidelines for dieting, but low fat calcium can help you burn the extra fat off as well as keep it off. The only way to know for sure if this is a secret for you is to try it. Some people may not see any effects with calcium, on the other hand it may be just what they needed to turn their diet around. Calcium is only going to help you towards your goal, but you should still practice good eating habits.