Calcium Supplements, What's the Verdict

I've been taking numerous supplements off and on for decades. I use the Balch Nutritional Healing book successfully to keep my family healthy.
After years of taking Osteo Bi-flex, I've come to find it's not worth the money.

I've been taking calcium supplements for decades to ward off the possibility of osteoporosis. My diet, especially back then was definitely lacking in dietary calcium. We don't drink milk....although nowadays I eat yogurt and/or cheese almost daily.

Imagine my surprise when a book [ Wheat Belly ]I consider as reliable tells me calcium supplements are not only worthless but also can be dangerous.
[I started reading the book after finding out I am gluten intolerant.]

So, of course I decided to do more research.
And, as calcium supplements of many kinds are very popular, research was not that easy to find.

Calcium taken alone stays in the blood and can be a problem for many, leading to increased heart health issues and/or stroke danger.
Calcium in food is not always absorbed and used for bone health.

Calcium taken with D3 and K2 is a better approach. But I'm not sure it is completely safe....or mostly safe....or safe at all.
Not all calcium supplements are equal and I found that Calcium Hydroxyapatite is one of the best calciums out there...... summary found here.

Some finds:
Too Much Calcium May Be Harmful for Women
Calcium supplementation: balancing the cardiovascular risks.
The Alarming Truth About Calcium Supplements
Calcium From Supplements or Dairy Doesn't Strengthen Bones, Study Finds
Calcium supplements and heart attacks: More data, more questions:

Except for postmenopausal women, there is inadequate evidence to estimate the benefits of vitamin D or calcium supplementation to prevent fractures in noninstitutionalized adults. Due to the lack of effect on fracture incidence and the increased incidence of nephrolithiasis in the intervention group of the WHI trial, the USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that daily supplementation with 400 IU of vitamin D3 and 1000 mg of calcium has no net benefit for the primary prevention of fractures in noninstitutionalized, postmenopausal women. Although women enrolled in WHI were predominately white, the lower risk for fractures in nonwhite women makes it very unlikely that a benefit would exist in this population.

But then:
concern not realistic??

Bottom line:
QUESTION: quit taking calcium supplements, even if dietary calcium intake is less than 1200 mg per day???

Calcium. Drink milk. Eat spinach.

Put the supplements in the bin and eat decent food.

I agree with the above poster: milk gives you calcium.

If you are still turned off from milk, I would suggest almond milk. I think it even has more calcium than cow milk.

I don't like drinking milk....be it cow, almond or coconut.
Just looking at it is a turnoff.....and almond and coconut milk are mostly water anyway.

Spinach is good stuff, but I'm pretty sure the iron in spinach has an effect of calcium usability.

I have also seen conflicting data as to how much calcium from foods does the bones any good.

This is put out by a dairy group, and it is in pdf format:
Absorption Issues of Calcium

I take quite a few supplements, because I'm weird with food, but calcium I do actually get from food, Almond milk, regular milk, cheese. I did take calcium supplements early last year but soon figured they were a waste of money.

I'd quit taking them and just get a little more from another source.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
Spinach is good stuff, but I'm pretty sure the iron in spinach has an effect of calcium usability.

I think that you are over-analysing. If you eat a half decent healthy diet, then your body will sort it all out. There are plenty of natural sources of calcium that should help you avoid supplements.

I take this,

www.thevitamincode.com...

Here's the multivitamin: Men/Women

It contains both the calcium and magnesium that my multivitamin was lacking when I'm not eating up to par. Its raw, organic and sourced from algae, the best source.

Supplements are still good when you can't get what you need from other foods that your body may disagree with. Always remember though, the benefits from many supplements won't be felt until your body adjusts, so you'll have to hang in there and give them a chance.

You should look to supplement with vegan formulas only as they are best absorbed and utilized by the body. All raw and organic when you can. More than 80% of supplements out there are junk or their ingredient ratios don't work in harmony with each other.

a reply to: eisegesis

I thought Calcium messes with magnesium absorption? weird to see them together, I take magnesium on an empty stomach for this reason.

originally posted by: valiant
a reply to: eisegesis

I thought Calcium messes with magnesium absorption? weird to see them together, I take magnesium on an empty stomach for this reason.

Calcium vs. magnesium: The key is balance

The new wisdom now emerging is that magnesium is actually the key to the body's proper assimilation and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. If we consume too much calcium, and without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions in the body.

Many researchers and nutritionists now believe magnesium is more important than calcium in order to maintain healthy bones. In addition, magnesium is responsible for more than 300 biochemical reactions, all necessary for optimum health. Magnesium plays a vital role in digestion, energy production, muscle contraction and relaxation, bone formation and cell division. In addition, magnesium is a key nutrient in the proper functioning of the heart, the kidneys, the adrenals and the entire nervous system.

Most calcium and magnesium supplements contain a ratio of two parts calcium to one part magnesium. The logic behind this ratio is based on the relative amounts of these nutrients used in the body. But in order to determine how much we might need to take as a supplement, we should consider how much of these nutrients we are getting in our food and how they are stored and recycled in the body.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

IMO, one should not take Calcium supplements without Magnesium supplements. They work hand in hand, and nearly everyone is Magnesium deficient. Without enough Mg, Calcium can not be properly utilized. My unscientific guess is this is why people have problems when supplementing Calcium.

I don't get much intake of calcium at all. As a result my body tries to hold on to as much as it can... Resulting in kidney stones. Well that's one theory of forward by the GP.

I remember years ago school telling me I had lack of calcium because of white spots on my teeth and nails. They were wrong. These were from tapping my teeth with my nails to make tuneful rhythms and other knocks to my gnashers.

a reply to: dogstar23

From my reading, calcium needs magnesium, D3 and K2 for proper absorption.

I do take calcium, magnesium and D3 together...and in fact take magnesium citrate as a powder, instead of the tablets with lots of filler.

As soon as you take 'extra' of anything your body could stop producing it naturally. That's the real danger. Cats and dogs know to eat grass when they need to eject posions, pregnant women have cravings which link to their offspring's food preferences... listen and respond to your body.

I take nothing supplemental except one tums tablet before bed, don't drink much milk , although I do eat cheese. In the summer I get a lot of vitamin D, I don't do sunscreen..
That said, I'm over 55 and get knocked over by one of my dogs at least once a year, and my bones are strong. I've fallen hard a couple of times. The doctors have always said I don't get nearly enough calcium, but I'm healthy, strong, and on zero prescriptions.
I think the vitamin d is more important than the calcium, and eating properly is a must - salads, veggies, good fats, real meats, not packaged food, real food.

a reply to: eisegesis

Thanks for that, maybe I don't need to be as strict with when I take my magnesium then.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I need to look into citrate powder, the capsules are pretty expensive

Foods that calcium doesn't like:
Foods with oxalates and phytic acid...some high fiber food....such as spinach, oats,

www.livestrong.com...

You should eat either eat a high fiber meal or a high calcium meal, but not mix the two.

Alcohol, soft drinks and coffee
www.sheknows.com...

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

If there is one supplement you absolutely should not be taking it's calcium (in whatever salt form it happens to be).

There is significant risk of a cardiac event because it's flooding the body with calcium - in food form it's released slower.

Calcium causes increased contractility of the heart muscle (ie it beats more forcefully).

If you think you might be calcium deficient then do what I did and ask your doctor/practice nurse for a blood test to check the levels.

Mine were okay, despite the fact I don't like milk or any dairy products, so it was a surprise.

Your body is the product of millions of years of evolution and is pretty good at getting the calcium it needs to function from a basic diet.

I'll give you a couple of links explaining some chemistry in milk that is a problem. The first link addresses both milk and wheat. Breads contain a lot of calcium along with other chemistries that can cause problems but milk does contain some chemistry that is a problem also.

disinfo.com...

www.notmilk.com...

Now in the second link there is a reference by Bruce Friedrich on Calcium www.notmilk.com... which addresses the myth about calcium. The absorbtion of calcium requires many things in balance. If things are not balanced calcium can become a problem.

On all of our cells there are receptors that utilize calcium on one side and glutamate on the other. This allows us to take up energy into the cells. Calcium and glutamates need to be balanced or there is a problem. Now to be absorbed into the bone and utilized the body needs a hormone created from vitamin D or D3. D3 is better than D2 but still needs proper enzymes to convert it. Some of us have a distorted enzyme or a reduced amount of this enzyme and the doctors prescribe a medication if we can't convert it right. That medicine is the active form of the hormone that is needed to complete the cycle. Too much of it and our soft tissue calcifies. Too little and we pull calcium that is already converted out of the bone. This has been researched and it does seem to be correct. Now the sunlight is needed to convert D3 and winter does not have enough of the sun they say, but it is the UV light that actually converts it and that UV light still comes through the clouds and illuminates the snow. You notice snow glows don't you?

There is a simpler way to get this hormone, it is calcitriol and it is found in potatoes and other root veggies. www.drugs.com... is the explanation of the drug. Now, here is something that shows the chemical in the nightingshades. empoweredsustenance.com... It is a little down on the page and is listed as calcitriol. Now too much potatoes can be a problem but not enough is a problem also if you can not convert Vitamin D for a variety of reasons including genetics.

Fluoride, the natural kind, is needed to process calcium into the bone. But it needs to be cycled in the diet, not consumed every time you drink some water or eat something that was cooked in water. It also is best in the organic form, or as calcium fluoride which is naturally in water. Fluoride consumed all the time becomes a problem. Good sources of natural fluorides are cilantro, if you don't think it tastes like socks, and celery and parsley and some other veggies. Fluoride in a real good form can be gotten from eating soup prepared from bones, it takes a while to boil but the right balance of minerals and fluoride is created. Seems we evolved around fire and because we worked so hard and sometimes we had to store foods we ate all of the meat and learned to cook it well so we did not get sick. But we threw away that knowledge and figured we can take a pill but that does not work unless someone learns to dry out bone soup and stick it into a pill.

Fluoride if overconsumed can cause you to lose a lot of minerals because it makes you pee. Some natural diuretics are tea, coffee, and celery. Now adding celery to soup in moderation is good, but too much can lower blood volume just like too much fluoride containing diuretics can do. Along with the water goes minerals. Too much fluoride makes bones brittle, they contain a fluoride crystal in high concentration that is weak or brittle. It is good for a coating on the teeth, but not for the inner part of the teeth, the teeth break easier just as bones do.

There isn't a lot of calcium in bones actually, a small percentage of the total weight of the bone.

Some sulfur compounds can help to build cartilage too. What good are strong bones if your joints are screwed up. Thiols in moderation along with proper amounts of the mineral Molybdenum to process the thiols properly is good for the joints. Also molybdenum helps to strengthen bones and since it works with sulfur, it actually increases oxygen to the cells. drsircus.com... Some people avoid sulfur foods because they lack enzymes, I just had to boost up the consumption of consumption of foods containing molybdenum. Real oatmeal works fine and it also contains Beta Glycans which are good for you. Cheerios also work. I take a multimineral tablet which contains that and also other minerals.

If you have reduced methylation, you can also have problems with calcium. Eating some COOKED dark green leafy veggies can supply the methyl folate, I am doing a trial on that supplement now along with a Methyl B12 spray. You do not need the B12, just some nutritional yeast or the right yeast in your homemade bread because the yeast in red star active dry yeast makes methyl B12. If you just rinse a carrot from your garden, the ground yeast makes this methyl B12 and it supplies what you need. Cyanocobalamin is not a good choice for those with a compromised methyl genetics. Forty five percent of people in the US have a lowered methylation cycle. I am hoping to get some hair back again from boosting the methylation cycle. If you do not know what this cycle is, think hypothyroidism.

The less calcium we have the more efficient we get at utilizing it. Remember that. Calcium neutralizes stomach acid, we need the acid to be able to take all minerals out of food so we can get a deficiency. Magnesium is also necessary and if you take too much calcium, magnesium and zinc absorption get suppressed. Zinc is needed for insulin and magnesium is needed to process energy. You need insulin and energy to form bone.

I guess I should stop here, there is much more to add but I may come back to break up the size of the posts.

I will conclude by saying a small supplementation, maybe twenty five percent, is good but over that will probably have negative effects somewhere in the body. Lots of plants and grains contain calcium, eating too much grain is not good also. You can't get complete nutrition in a pill yet, maybe in a hundred years they will figure a good way to put bone soup into a pill. Check out my links and ponder on what I say and experiment on yourself to see how it makes you feel. Remember, too much of a good thing is not good, sometimes the balance goes a different way.

Holy crap, did that last post get long.

a reply to: rickymouse

But, good info...although it'll take some time for me to "digest" it all....