A new report in this week's British Medical Journal indicates the calcium supplements millions of women take to strengthen their bones and reduce fractures may be putting them at risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular events. Including more calcium-rich foods in your diet is much more beneficial and safer.
To learn how you can increase calcium in your diet, the University of Michigan Women's Health Program provides dozens of tips.
The British Medical Journal reported that researchers analyzed data of more than 16,700 women with an average age of 63 who were not taking calcium supplements. They found that women who began taking calcium at the beginning of the study were at an increased risk for heart attack, stroke and heart disease. The calcium supplements increased their risk by 13 to 22 percent.
However, women who had been on a regimen of calcium supplements prior to the study, and then began taking a combination of calcium and vitamin D, did not show an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Researchers concluded it was the sudden spike in blood calcium levels that occurs when starting the calcium supplement that may be responsible for the increased risk. And high blood calcium levels over the long term are linked to hardening of the arteries.
Professor Ian Reid, a professor of medicine and endocrinology at the University of Auckland, and lead researcher said, “What we're suggesting is that we should move away from using supplements and instead we should be encouraging people to get their calcium from their diet. And for people who are at a high risk of fracture, they should be relying on medicines to decrease their fracture risk, not taking supplements.”
British Medical Journal Report
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