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Head-to-head evidence comparison — which supplement is right for you?
Calcium vs Raloxifene (Evista): Calcium has the stronger overall evidence (5.5 vs 5.3/10); they're alternatives for bone health — the best pick depends on your goals. Take the 60-second quiz for a pick tailored to your goals.
Calcium wins 3 of 3 categories. Both are solid choices — the best pick depends on your specific goals.
Verdict
Too few graded studies
Top outcomes
Verdict
Too few graded studies
Top outcomes
Shared outcomes (3)
Outcomes where both Calcium and Raloxifene (Evista) have evidence — compare verdict strength side-by-side.
1000–1200mg daily (split doses) (no cited trial states the dose it used)
Split doses with meals, 500mg with breakfast, 500mg with dinner
Calcium Citrate
Approved (postmenopausal women) / off-label (male) — clinician-directed. For osteoporosis treatment/prevention and breast-cancer risk reduction the standard, validated dose is 60 mg once daily (the cited MORE and RUTH trials used 60 mg a day, and MORE also tested 120 mg a day: both doses reduced vertebral fracture risk, and the abstract does not compare side effects between them). For off-label male gynecomastia no cited study gives a dose, none covers men or children, and there is no FDA-approved male dose and the male evidence is thin and retrospective.
Any time of day
Raloxifene hydrochloride 60 mg tablets (approved for postmenopausal osteoporosis and breast-cancer risk reduction)
and 7 more not shown
6-24 months
12-36 months
Throughout pregnancy
Within days of starting
Months to years
Years
Throughout use
Throughout use
Use of calcium or calcium in combination with vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures and bone loss in people aged 50 years and older: a meta-analysis
Lancet (2007) · Meta analysis · n=63897
29 randomised trials, 63,897 participants aged 50 or older, pooled with a random-effects model.
Role of calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation in preventing osteoporotic fracture in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Indian J Med Res (2023) · Meta analysis
18 RCTs in adults over 60, comparing calcium, vitamin D or both against no treatment or placebo.
Calcium and vitamin D for increasing bone mineral density in premenopausal women
Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2023) · Systematic review · n=941
7 RCTs, 941 healthy premenopausal women: 138 randomised to calcium, 110 to vitamin D, 271 to both, 422 to placebo. Mean ages 18.1 to 42.1.
Reduction of vertebral fracture risk in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis treated with raloxifene: results from a 3-year randomized clinical trial. Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) Investigators.
JAMA (1999) · Rct · n=7705
MORE: multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of raloxifene 60 or 120 mg/day in 7,705 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, followed up to 36 months
The effect of raloxifene on risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: results from the MORE randomized trial. Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation.
JAMA (1999) · Rct · n=7705
Pre-specified breast-cancer analysis of the MORE RCT (7,705 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis), followed a median 40 months
Continuing outcomes relevant to Evista: breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal osteoporotic women in a randomized trial of raloxifene.
J Natl Cancer Inst (2004) · Rct · n=5213
CORE: extension of the randomized MORE trial giving 4 additional years of raloxifene 60 mg/day (n=3,510) vs continued placebo (n=1,703)
Calcium has a higher evidence score (5.5/10 vs 5.3/10) and wins in 3 of 3 categories.
For bone health, Calcium has a higher relevance score (95 vs 76).
No documented interaction was found in the data searched. This does not establish that this exact combination is safe.
The right pick depends on your goals. Answer a few quick questions for a personalised recommendation — or dig into the full evidence on each.