There’s increasing evidence about calcium supplements and evidence that they cause colon polyps and that the calcium ends up in arteries rather than bones and therefore best avoided.
In this article they recommend getting calcium from your diet and exercise -
‘Multiple studies have found that there’s little to no benefit to taking calcium supplements for the prevention of hip fractures. On the other hand, recent studies have linked calcium supplements with an increased risk of colon polyps (small growths in the large intestine that can become cancerous) and kidney stones, which are hard masses usually formed in the kidneys from an accumulation of calcium and other substances. Additionally, a 2016 study by Michos and her colleagues suggested that calcium supplements may increase the risk of calcium buildup in the heart’s arteries.’
Good article but just two points I would like to make:
Good dietary sources of calcium include:
Almonds
Oranges
Dried figs
Soybeans
Garbanzo, white and pinto beans
Low-fat dairy such as milk and yogurt
Leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach
1 Obviously, as hypos, it's best we avoid the soybeans! (Even if not hypo I would say avoid the soybeans!)
2 Why low-fat dairy, for goodness sake? The body needs fat and dairy is a good way to get it. Full fat dairy is also nicer, because the flavour is in the fat - that being natures way of getting us to eat it!
Yes, if your vit D is low your calcium is probably going to be low, too. Taking vit D and magnesium increases absorption of calcium from food. I was surprised they didn't mention that. Vit K2 makes sure the calcium gets into the teeth and bones.
And, magnesium is far more important for bones than calcium. But doctors have been brain-washed where calcium is concerned and thing that all you have to do to cure/avoid osteoporosis is over-dose on calcium.
One of the things that has shocked me over the years is how many patients are prescribed calcium supplements without ever having their calcium levels tested. Or if they are, the patient never gets told the result.
I've had my calcium tested occasionally as part of bundles of tests I've paid for myself. The results are always high in range so if a doctor wanted to prescribe calcium I would resist.
I have always wondered where all that calcium was coming from. I drink a lot of tea and some coffee daily, and I always add a generous quantity of milk to cool it down. I can't drink very hot liquids. (In calorie terms I would have been better off cooling my drinks down with cold water.)
I have also wondered if the high in range calcium was coming from my bones. Ideally I would get a DEXA scan. But in the UK GPs don't seem to do those until you break a bone, and even then having it offered doesn't appear to be automatic. This does seem to be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
My mother broke her wrist as a result of a fall when she was about 70. It was several years later before anyone bothered to give her a scan and discovered that she had really severe osteoporosis. She needed new hips but her bones were so weak that there was nothing to screw new bits too. The worst result of her osteoporosis was the fractures in her vertebrae. I'm not sure how many she had but it was a lot - and there appears to be no treatment for it. Before the end of her life her back collapsed, so that she was permanently looking at the floor. And of course, she was prescribed calcium, and bisphosphonates that caused necrosis of the jaw and all her teeth fell out.
Women who are post-menopausal start to lose bone strength, so anyone having an early menopause should be wary of that.
I have, just once, had a coronary artery calcification (CAC) scan done and my result wasn't zero, but it was low. So all that milk I've been swallowing in my tea and coffee hadn't done me too much damage at that time - but apparently it increases exponentially as people age.
One important point... Statins increase calcification of the arteries, and doctors have struggled to explain why they think statins increase life span when it also increases calcification. They've come up with the notion that statins "stabilise" calcium deposits in the arteries. Personally, it sounds like nonsense to me, so I will continue to avoid calcium and statins. But I would quite like to have a DEXA scan and an updated CAC scan. I wonder if the NHS does them, and under what circumstances they do them for free?
My bones are now very good but I still got offered calcium and bone meds after a TIA, When I asked why I was being prescribed these meds he said they were age appropriate. It appears they don’t even look at labs and DEXA scans results but just write a prescription which I obviously refused.
I have had three DEXA’s on NHS because aged 49, I was diagnosed as oesteopenic. Ask your GP.
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