Calcium In Human Health

edited by Connie M Weaver and Robert P Heaney, 2005, 472 pages, hardcover, $135.00. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.

Medical University of South Carolina
173 Ashley Avenue, Room 313
Charleston, SC 29425
E-mail: hollisb{at}musc.edu

Calcium In Human Health is the culmination of, on the part of the authors and editors, the daunting task of assembling and presenting an enormous amount of information dealing with diverse topics in calcium nutrition. I report that they have succeeded in their efforts.

The book is divided into sections: Calcium functions; Techniques for studying calcium metabolism and its relation to disease; Calcium consumption, requirements, and bioavailability; Calcium homeostasis; Calcium through development; and Calcium and disease. The book succeeds in integrating coverage of basic science topics, as in chapters 3 and 6, "Cellular functions and fluxes of calcium," and "Molecular resolution of calcium metabolism," respectively, with practical applications, as in chapter 9, "Food sources, supplements, and bioavailability." This book is also unique in its inclusion of the section on Calcium and disease, in which 10 chapters, dealing with a variety of topics from calcium and oral health to dietary calcium and the metabolic syndrome, provide the reader with a wealth of information.

Overall, this book is a major addition to the medical field with respect to calcium nutrition and homeostasis. It would be invaluable to most nutritionists and is a must for those of us who teach specialty classes dealing with the macro elements.