Calcium Supplements
Recent research has raised concerns about taking calcium supplements routinely to prevent bone loss. Researchers after analysing data from close to 12,000 adults found the supplements increased the risk of heart attack by 30% in people older than 40 years of age, providing little benefit to bone health. Calcium supplements unlike calcium from dietary sources raise blood levels of calcium, increasing a person’s risk of heart attack.
This is why the researchers encourage getting calcium via dairy products, green leafy vegetables and other dietary sources. John Cleland, who wrote the editorial accompanying the report in the British Journal of Medicine said why calcium increases the risk of heart attacks or strokes is not clear.
In general, the supposed health benefits of supplements face scrutiny, as clinical trials suggest single nutrient supplements like vitamins B, C, and E and the mineral selenium do not prevent chronic or age-related diseases, such as, prostate and other kinds of cancer, as once thought. There are some cases, wherein supplements have proven harmful. For example, beta carotene derived from dietary sources is associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, however, taken in the form of supplements, it increases the incidence of the disease among smokers. It can behave differently in the body under various circumstances, causing damage.
The millions of post- menopausal women, who take calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis, may increase their bone density, but do not reduce the risk of fractures or of death. Some researchers are now convinced supplements do not provide any benefits, rather they can prove harmful, increasing the risk of heart attacks by a third.
However, experts agree these results do not apply to calcium ingested in food, as that is beneficial.
Although there are several possibilities, no one knows how the supplements increase the risk of heart attack.
This is why the researchers encourage getting calcium via dairy products, green leafy vegetables and other dietary sources. John Cleland, who wrote the editorial accompanying the report in the British Journal of Medicine said why calcium increases the risk of heart attacks or strokes is not clear.
In general, the supposed health benefits of supplements face scrutiny, as clinical trials suggest single nutrient supplements like vitamins B, C, and E and the mineral selenium do not prevent chronic or age-related diseases, such as, prostate and other kinds of cancer, as once thought. There are some cases, wherein supplements have proven harmful. For example, beta carotene derived from dietary sources is associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, however, taken in the form of supplements, it increases the incidence of the disease among smokers. It can behave differently in the body under various circumstances, causing damage.
The millions of post- menopausal women, who take calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis, may increase their bone density, but do not reduce the risk of fractures or of death. Some researchers are now convinced supplements do not provide any benefits, rather they can prove harmful, increasing the risk of heart attacks by a third.
However, experts agree these results do not apply to calcium ingested in food, as that is beneficial.
Although there are several possibilities, no one knows how the supplements increase the risk of heart attack.