Calcium Supplements Linked to Boost in Heart Attack Risk
People should get needed mineral through their diet, researchers say
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- Although millions of people take calcium supplements to boost bone health and ward off osteoporosis, New Zealand researchers say the supplements have little effect on bone strength and contribute to a small increase in the risk for heart attack among older people.

Rather than relying on calcium supplements, the researchers suggest that people get their required calcium, if possible, from foods.

"When you look at major trials where people have been randomly assigned to take calcium or placebo, there is an increase in the risk of heart attack in the people who were randomly assigned to take calcium," said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Ian Reid, from the Department of Medicine in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland.

"The extent of that increased risk is enough to completely counterbalance the small beneficial effect that calcium tablets have on numbers of fractures," he said.

Reid was careful to note that people need calcium in their diet. "What we are saying is that calcium supplements don't appear to be a good thing, based on the current evidence," he explained.

The report is published online July 30 in BMJ.

For the study, Reid's team did a meta-analysis of 11 randomized, controlled trials involving 11,921 people. In other words, the researchers reviewed already published studies and teased out data on any connection between calcium supplements and heart attacks.

Their analysis found nearly a 30 percent increased likelihood of having a heart attack among people older than 40 who were taking calcium supplements. In addition, there was a small but statistically insignificant increase in the risk for stroke and death among those taking supplements.

The findings remained consistent even after taking into account age, gender and the type of supplement, the researchers said.

The increased risk for a heart attack was a modest one, the researchers noted.

Though a 30 percent increased risk is, in absolute terms, small, it still could reveal a large problem because so many people take calcium supplements, Reid said.

Earlier studies did not find a similar risk when people get calcium through eating foods rich in the mineral, which suggests that supplements may be an independent risk factor.

Moreover, noting that calcium supplements appeared to have only a minor effect on bone health and perhaps no effect in preventing fractures, the researchers suggested that their use in preventing or treating osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) should be reconsidered.

Reid speculated that calcium supplements can increase blood levels of calcium above the normal level, causing changes in blood chemistry, which could be dangerous in people at risk for heart attacks.

"We advise our patients to move away from calcium supplements and move toward eating calcium-rich food as part of a normal balanced diet and to remain physically active," he said.

In addition, Reid said, people should have a bone density test to assess their risk for osteoporosis. "If their risk is high, they should consider using medications rather than calcium supplements," he said.

He and other researchers noted that the study had certain limitations, including excluding studies in which participants took both vitamin D and calcium supplements, and added that some of the trials they reviewed did not collect data on heart problems in a standardized manner.

Dr. John Cleland, from the Department of Cardiology at Castle Hill Hospital and Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull in Kingston upon Hull in the United Kingdom, who wrote an accompanying journal editorial, said that "calcium supplements probably don't reduce fractures and certainly don't reduce mortality and can now be considered ineffective."

"It is not clear whether they really increase the risk of heart attacks or strokes," he said. "However, they do appear to be a waste of time and effort, and we should probably stop using them."

Research is needed to find treatments for osteoporosis with and without calcium and vitamin D supplements, Cleland said.

"Newer treatments and some old neglected ones, like thiazide diuretics, do reduce fractures and reduce mortality," he said. "We don't know whether or not you need to take calcium and vitamin D to make them work. We know supplements are a waste of time by themselves, but [whether they] act as adjuvants for effective therapy is not known."

Duffy MacKay, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement industry lobbying group, described the conclusion by Reid's group as weak because none of the studies used in the report were specifically designed to look at the risk for heart attack.

"I see a very strong conclusion, and I think that [it] is very overstated," he said. "My conclusion to this is [that] here is some preliminary evidence suggesting something we need to look at with additional clinical trials."

MacKay said he advises people to get 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day from dairy products and leafy green vegetables. If your diet doesn't contain enough calcium, then the gap can be filled with a calcium supplement, he said.

For people who take calcium supplements, MacKay advises not taking the dose all at once, but breaking it up over the day so that calcium levels in the blood don't increase beyond normal.

More information

The U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements has more on calcium supplements.

SOURCES: Ian Reid, M.D., department of medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand; John Cleland, M.D., department of cardiology, Castle Hill Hospital, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Kingston upon Hull, England; Duffy MacKay, N.D., vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, Council for Responsible Nutrition, Washington, D.C.; July 30, 2010, BMJ, online

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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i always think it is useless to take supplements if there isn't any signs of deficiency.

Hmm, if there's a sign of deficiency, it means you're already deficient.

And taking supplements is useful when you know you're not eating healthily.

And this is debatable but, food nowadays, having gone through over-utilized land, pesticides, processing (including heating), preservatives and conditioners, cold storage, then further cooking (high heat), has lost a significant portion of its nutritional value.

Anyway, many buy calcium supplements for some reason, preventing osteoporosis is one of them.

According to report by the World Health Organization published in 2006, the majority of the world’s population is magnesium deficient. 

Are YOU Magnesium Deficient? 

Below is a list of symptoms and behaviours that can identify a need for magnesium.[1] If you can identify with a dozen or more symptoms and behaviours from the list, then taking magnesium may very well help to contribute to your well being. 

1.    Alcohol intake – more than seven drinks per week
2.    Anger
3.    Angina
4.    Anxiety
5.    Apathy
6.    Arrhythmia of the heart
7.    Asthma
8.    Blood tests  (low calcium/low potassium/low magnesium)
9.    Bowel problems  (undigested fat in stool / constipation / diarrhoea / alternating constipation and diarrhoea / IBS / crohn’s / colitis)
10.  Brain Trauma
11.  Bronchitis
12.  Caffeine (coffee / tea / chocolate) – more than three servings per day
13.  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
14.  Cold extremities (hands and feet)
15.  Concentration difficulties
16.  Confusion
17.  Convulsions
18.  Depression
19.  Diabetes (type I / type II / gestational diabetes)
20.  Fibromyalgia
21.  Food intake imbalances (limited intake green leafy vegetables, seeds and fresh fruit / high protein)
22.  Food cravings (carbohydrates / chocolate / salt / junk food)
23.  Gagging or choking on food
24.  Headaches
25.  Heart disease
26.  Heart- rapid rate
27.  High blood pressure
28.  Homocysteinuria
29.  Hyperventilation
30.  Hyperactivity
31.  Infertility
32.  Insomnia
33.  Irritability
34.  Kidney stones
35.  Medications (digitalis / diuretics / antibiotics / steroids / oral contraceptives / indomethacin / cisplatin / amphotericin b / cholestyramine / synthetic estrogens)
36.  Memory impairment
37.  Mercury amalgam dental fillings
38.  Menstrual pain and cramps
39.  Migraines
40.  Mineral supplements (calcium without magnesium / zinc without magnesium / iron without magnesium)
41.  Mitral valve prolapse
42.  Muscle cramps or spasms
43.  Muscle twitching or tics
44.  Muscle weakness
45.  Numbness of hands or feet
46.  Osteoporosis
47.  Paranoia
48.  Parathyroid hyperactivity
49.  PMS
50.  Polycystic ovarian disease
51.  Pregnancy (currently pregnant / pregnant within a year / history of preeclampsia or eclampsia / postpartum depression / have a child with cerebral palsy)
52.  Radiation therapy, recent
53.  Raynaud’s syndrome
54.  Restlessness
55.  Sexual energy diminished
56.  Shortness of breath
57.  Smoking
58.  Startled easily by noise
59.  Stressful life or circumstances
60.  Stroke
61.  Sugar, high intake daily
62.  Syndrome X
63.  Thyroid hyperactivity
64.  Tingling of hands or feet
65.  Transplants (kidney / liver)
66.  Tremor of the hands
67.  Water that contains fluoride/chlorine/calcium
68.  Wheezing 

There have been indications of magnesium deficiency being associated with the following: 

i)      ADD / ADHD
ii)    auto immune disorders
iii)  skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis
iv)  systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
v)    tension
vi)  ulcerative colitis
vii) osteoarthritis 

Generally speaking, you become more deficient the more hectic your life is, the more you expose yourself to stress and the less you take care of your diet. Living in an urban environment does not help either as air; light, noise and water pollution all contribute to your becoming magnesium deficient. 

It is not always easy to eliminate or reduce the factors that contribute to magnesium deficiency. You need to earn a living and going through stress is often something that is unavoidable in order to bring home a pay check. Stress is not something a student can tune out during the examination periods. But the ability to deal with stress might be something that can be worked on and Magnesium can play a role in this. 

From: http://www.elementz.com.my/wordpress/?page_id=80

well yes. correct. but the body will not like crash immediately if there is mild deficiency....
you don't take supplements if you don't suspect deficiency in diet.

add also 1 more point....food nowadays are also fortified with all sorts of stuff.....

a lot of people i met actually suffer from over-nutrition form of malnutrition. especially those of wealthy and middle income group.

to prevent osteoporosis......actually having enough exercise is a bigger factor. use it or lose it.
all the calcium in the world will not help if there isn't enough exercise.

What in the heck is that statement?
It's like ordering Milo ais... tak mau milo and ais.

Dunno lah what talk him...

If the intake of a nutrient is way over the limit, then it's toxicity or intoxication. No such thing as over-nutrition.
If the intake (from diet of supplements or somewhere lah) is too low, the person is malnourished (or malnutrition).
-----
It is recommended that vitamins are to be taken as close to meal time (before or after) as possible, or with fruits.

As for withdrawal... it's like malnutrition lah. Your body is used to ample supply of nutrients... suddenly you stop taking them, where is it going to get those nutrients?
------
Kasey,
Just do it, man.
Even if no one gives a shit... what harm can it do you?
You'd still be learning new stuff, or reinforcing your current knowledge by doing the research.

Kasey,
Just do it, man.
Even if no one gives a shit... what harm can it do you?
You'd still be learning new stuff, or reinforcing your current knowledge by doing the research.