Written by Chicagohealers.com practitioner Martha H. Howard, MD -
This week, I have had so many people ask me about a recent study on calcium supplements. The claim of the study is that taking calcium supplements causes a 30% increase in heart attacks. There are some serious problems with the study, a meta-analysis by Professor Ian Reid from the Department of Medicine at the University of Auckland, and published in the British Medical Journal.
A prominent researcher on calcium metabolism (who drafted the WHO recommendations on dietary calcium) Professor Chris Nordin, of Royal Adelaide Hospital, has already questioned the findings. He says that the review is misleading because it does not separate men from women in the findings. According to him Men are much more liable to heart attacks than women, but women need calcium far more than men, so it is absurd to publish a study of the effect of calcium on the heart without separating men from women.
My own objections to the study are as follows:
There are a lot of hazards in the kind of statistical number crunching involved in a meta-analysis. Worst case scenario is, you do a meta-analysis of 11 studies, all of which are flawed in their methods or have doubtful data or conclusions, and what do you get? A larger conclusion based on 11 questionable sets of data. So how accurate were the original 11 studies? We have no idea.
We do know that in the studies, the calcium was treated as an independent variable so magnesium and Vitamin D were not given. Magnesium is needed to balance calcium intake. Vitamin D is needed for proper calcium metabolism. So doing studies that do not provide the other vitamins and minerals needed, could have some very poor results. Maybe calcium supplements, specifically when given without magnesium and Vitamin D do cause additional calcium deposits in the arteries, and therefore more heart attacks. But right now we dont know, and the meta-analysis is not sufficient evidence to tell us.
So, what to do? Bottom linethere are many long term studies showing that calcium supplementation is safe. Here are my recommendations.
Calcium-magnesium-Vitamin D supplementation is especially important for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.The current recommendation for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women is from 1000 to 1500 mg of calcium per day. Given that most people do get some calcium in their diet, 500 mg of calcium with 250 mg magnesium and 400 IU of Vitamin D (taken all together) is probably enough supplementation, unless the person is allergic to dairy.
Vitamin D is very important to bone health. There are many people walking around with Vitamin D deficiency in the United Statesnot enough sun exposure, and not enough Vitamin D in their diets. In addition to osteoporosis, Vitamin D deficiency also is a factor in Alzheimers disease. So get your Vitamin D level taken, and if it is low, you may need to take more like 2000 IU or more per day until your level gets up to normal. Take the Vitamin D orally, do not accept high dose injectionsthey have been associated with atypical bone fractures.
This week, I have had so many people ask me about a recent study on calcium supplements. The claim of the study is that taking calcium supplements causes a 30% increase in heart attacks. There are some serious problems with the study, a meta-analysis by Professor Ian Reid from the Department of Medicine at the University of Auckland, and published in the British Medical Journal.
A prominent researcher on calcium metabolism (who drafted the WHO recommendations on dietary calcium) Professor Chris Nordin, of Royal Adelaide Hospital, has already questioned the findings. He says that the review is misleading because it does not separate men from women in the findings. According to him Men are much more liable to heart attacks than women, but women need calcium far more than men, so it is absurd to publish a study of the effect of calcium on the heart without separating men from women.
My own objections to the study are as follows:
There are a lot of hazards in the kind of statistical number crunching involved in a meta-analysis. Worst case scenario is, you do a meta-analysis of 11 studies, all of which are flawed in their methods or have doubtful data or conclusions, and what do you get? A larger conclusion based on 11 questionable sets of data. So how accurate were the original 11 studies? We have no idea.
We do know that in the studies, the calcium was treated as an independent variable so magnesium and Vitamin D were not given. Magnesium is needed to balance calcium intake. Vitamin D is needed for proper calcium metabolism. So doing studies that do not provide the other vitamins and minerals needed, could have some very poor results. Maybe calcium supplements, specifically when given without magnesium and Vitamin D do cause additional calcium deposits in the arteries, and therefore more heart attacks. But right now we dont know, and the meta-analysis is not sufficient evidence to tell us.
So, what to do? Bottom linethere are many long term studies showing that calcium supplementation is safe. Here are my recommendations.
Calcium-magnesium-Vitamin D supplementation is especially important for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.The current recommendation for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women is from 1000 to 1500 mg of calcium per day. Given that most people do get some calcium in their diet, 500 mg of calcium with 250 mg magnesium and 400 IU of Vitamin D (taken all together) is probably enough supplementation, unless the person is allergic to dairy.
Vitamin D is very important to bone health. There are many people walking around with Vitamin D deficiency in the United Statesnot enough sun exposure, and not enough Vitamin D in their diets. In addition to osteoporosis, Vitamin D deficiency also is a factor in Alzheimers disease. So get your Vitamin D level taken, and if it is low, you may need to take more like 2000 IU or more per day until your level gets up to normal. Take the Vitamin D orally, do not accept high dose injectionsthey have been associated with atypical bone fractures.