Optimum Calcium and Magnesium Supplements with Vitamin D

[Polly91]

Can you advise on these supplements? I am osteopenic (as well as hypothyroid) so need calcium but I understand calcium replacement can have adverse effects on cardiovascular health.

Is there an optimal ratio ?

I am waiting for thyroid and vitamin D & ferritin blood results so wanted to get some advice from this well informed and helpful group.

Thank you!

[Polly91]

These are excellent. I hate to think the damage I've done to my arteries over the years of neglect and ignorance!

[Nanaedake]

Canadian Osteoporosis Society have a useful calcium calculator to work out how much calcium you need and how much you actually got in a day.

osteoporosis.ca/bone-health...

[Polly91 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank you

[Nanaedake in reply to Polly91]

If female and menopausal, women excrete a lot of calcium when oestrogen levels drop so that even if your diet seems sufficient you may need more in order to retain enough due to the stage in life. Therefore, we can't assume our dietary calcium is sufficient at menopause so worth making an effort to ensure plenty. I was informed that there is no conclusive research on whether magnesium helps bone density but it's so cheap it's worth taking. I take magnesium citrate and 6 prunes a day (for the boron) as well as vitamin D3. You also need enough protein to build bone and muscle. Other minerals are important but it's difficult to know what we are deficient in unless you have a lot of blood tests and not everything is reliably measurable.

Calcium and menopause

medscape.com/viewarticle/73...

nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-bo...

[Polly91 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank you Nanaedake. So do you also take calcium as a supplement (I'm quite wary of it having heard it can do more harm than good) or do you just ensure you get enough through dairy & greens & oranges etc?

So much we need to know to be healthy. Glad to be part of such an enlightened group.

[Nanaedake in reply to Polly91]

If you can get enough from your diet then that's best but as I've got osteoporosis and thyroid disease I been prescribed a supplement as I've clearly had problems but I do take K2-MK7 to help get the calcium where it should be. I had a thyroidectomy so I think its more critical and more difficult to maintain calcium levels in this case.

[Polly91 in reply to Nanaedake]

Ah ok. Take care

[Nanaedake in reply to Polly91]

Next time you have a blood test ask your doctor to check calcium levels but you can have insuffiency that doesn't show up in blood tests. Ensure you have calcium rich food with every meal. Apparently you need to separate calcium rich food by 4 hours from thyroid hormone according to the NHS.

Having a good vitamin D level is really important. I also heard that it isn't good to take calcium as a supplement, however, there are situation when people need it. I wish I had taken it much earlier as doctors did not identify insufficiency based on my symptoms and it did not show in blood tests. I supplemented vitamin D3 as I felt so unwell but it didn't prevent loss of bone on it's own. This is only my experience, I have no medical training so I can't totally explain it.

[Polly91 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank you. I am osteopenic so I will work harder at including calcium rich foods into my diet. Trouble is many of them are high in saturated fat & if you have high(ish) cholesterol it’s not ideal!

[Nanaedake in reply to Polly91]

You could look into low fat organic yoghurt although you need good fats to absorb calcium effectively. What about vegetables and pulses that are high in calcium, and then add olive oil or avocado oil. Fish twice a week is good. Tinned fish with the bones like sardines, pink salmon. Omega 3 oils in fish are good aren't they?

[Polly91 in reply to Nanaedake]

Yes I think they are - in fact I had a tin of sardines yesterday! Good ideas for calcium - thank you

I’m going to focus on getting my diet right.

Have neurologist appointment today- hoping he tells me not a neurological issue. But tingling kept me awake much of night😢

[twinkleyt in reply to Nanaedake]

My yearly full blood test showed a calcium deficiency a few years ago and GP put me on calcium + vitamin D supplements. I have some calcium deposits on/in my heart so was undecided if I should take the whole 4 x 750mg calcium carbonate ( equivalent to 300mg calcium) daily so as I also have a partially narrowed coronary artery, I prioritised and took only 1 tablet per day. My recent blood test showed no calcium deficiency .

A friend was taking Calcium supplements when she went through an early menopause and they gave her constipation.

Kee4p in mind though that everyone is different.

[Nanaedake in reply to twinkleyt]

6 prunes a day may help boron levels which is good for bones and prevent constipation. Magnesium citrate daily will also help to keep things moving and may be good for bone building as well as supporting thyroid health.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Apparently calcium isn't helpful on its own for osteopaenia - you need magnesium and boron as well (and probably other things), and few people are actually calcium deficient in their diets - far more people are magnesium deficient and vit D deficient. Taking vitamin K2 along with calcium helps to make sure that it goes into the bones and teeth not the arteries and soft tissue. Also bear in mind that it is not natural for an elderly person to have the bone density of a 30 year old, whether it is desirable or not, I don't know. A good level of thyroid hormone is needed to break down old bone and build new (including a decent t3 level)

[Polly91 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

So interesting Angel ON. Might explain a lot. I just wish I had found you all a few years ago !

😀