Calcium Supplementation Linked to Increased Risk For Myocardial Infarction

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Ian Reid, professor of medicine at the University of Auckland, said, "If you have 1,000 people taking calcium for five years, we will expect to find 14 more heart attacks, 10 more strokes and 13 more deaths in the people given calcium than they would have had if they hadn't been treated with calcium.”

"When you take calcium supplements, your blood calcium level goes up over the following four to six hours and goes up to the top end of the normal range," he said.

He went on to explain that this phenomenon does not occur when one consumes calcium in the diet, because calcium from food is absorbed very slowly, so the blood calcium level doesn’t change much. The risk of formation of plaques in blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases increases when blood calcium levels are high.

Discussion
Calcium supplementation has been thought to be one of the most powerful modes of treating or preventing the onset of osteoporosis. The findings of this study have shown the darker side of supplementation.

Earlier studies have revealed that calcium supplementation may have modest benefits on bone density and fracture prevention, hence it’s importance needs to be reassessed vis a vis a calcium rich diet.
It is possible that, the western population already has a high intake of calcium and may not require the dose provided by supplements.
Further studies must be conducted in countries where the diet is not so rich in calcium.

By Poonam Vaswani
Sr. Dietitian NutritionVista.com

NutritionVista

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User Comments

20 July, 2013 | vignesh | Reply

my dad s bp,diabetic patient,,he s having low serum calcium..he s taking supplement vit d3 tablets,,,it will cause any pblm,,r any chance of getting cvs diseases,,give me a suggestion,,whether he have 2 take dat supplement r not??? WITH REGARDS,

17 May, 2011 | instaflex | Reply

Nice Post ! I agree with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates. I will immediately grab your rss feed to stay privy of any updates.

18 September, 2010 | Vijayalakshmi | Reply

I am sure that having a diet rich in Calcium and potassium foods along with lowering sodium will have a very positive influence on management of BP.The problem lies in supplementation as most supplements are not natural and most often again they overdosed. SO its more of eating a diet as natural as possible.

18 September, 2010 | Sujatha | Reply

My mother consumes one multi vitamin and mineral tablet a day, which also has calcium in it. Does this mean that she has to stop taking that supplementation? We are vegetarians, her weight is normal and she is active.

24 August, 2010 | Sudhindra | Reply

Hi Poonam,

My mother is a high BP patient and she takes one tab calicmax every day!! Do you still say that she is prone to some heart disease.

Regards,
Sudhindra

26 August, 2010 | Poonam | Reply

Hello Ms Sudhindra
I can understand your concern, however a lot will depend upon what your mother-in- law eats. If she is getting enough calcium through her diet, then supplementation may not be necessary. She must discuss this with her physician as well.

06 August, 2010 | Geetanjali Kelkar | Reply

Supplementation or popping multivitamin and mineral tablets has become common these days. However, it’s important to note that ‘supplement’ means ‘add on’ to what is missing in our daily diet. Vitamin and mineral intake beyond the recommended dietary allowance work like chemicals in the body. Excess are either thrown out of the body or might accumulate to cause toxicity or hypervitaminosis. Moreover, supplements are likely to inhibit absorption of other nutrients- like excess of calcium or iron will reduce absorption of zinc since all these minerals compete for the same site of absorption i.e. the upper part of duodenum.

Thus, it appears prudent for all to first evaluate their dietary intake and if there is a deficiency adopt supplementation. This will certainly help to prevent any deleterious effects on the human body.

04 August, 2010 | Kanika Jain | Reply

Oxalate and phytate in vegetrarian diets prevent absorption and utilisation of calcium .It is really important for vegetarians to include enough of dairy products in their diet to meet their calcium requirement.

04 August, 2010 | Kanika Jain | Reply

Calcuim supplements are one of the most commonly marketed supplements now a days. Even medical health care providers are prescribing without giving due consideration to dietary intake of patients. Easy availability of supplements over the counter is also making matter worse. In fact, one of popular calcium supplements is easily available in even departmental store! It is important for a layman to know that if diet is adequate in calcium sources then there is no need to take any supplement. One should always discuss his\her diet with doctor before taking supplements. And same goes for all supplements not just calcium. Balanced diet is best to provide our body nutrients we require. Do not just blindly take any supplement.
Regards,
Kanika Jain
Dietitian
NutritionVista

04 August, 2010 | Rajani | Reply

This means that we have to always maintain the intake close to 1000 mg for adults and that too through diet only. Can you please tell me how to assess the amount of calcium consumed in my diet. I generally take 2 cups of low fat milk and 2 cups of low fat curds a day. In a week I drink about 1-2 glass of milk shake and 2-3 times of green leafy vegs. I am a vegetarian and 30 years old.

03 August, 2010 | Ambika, | Reply

So what happens to the elderly who have been on these med supplements for a while and one is scared to stop them for fear of osteoporosis.
Continue or not?

04 August, 2010 | Poonam Vaswani | Reply

Hello Ms Ambika,
The decision should be based on the dietary intake of calcium rich foods. If a person is consuming plenty of calcium rich foods and is confident that the daily requirement is being met, there maybe no need for supplementation. Usually the elderly have a lower food intake so it maybe necessary to continue supplements. Also, if they have a heart condition, they must check on this with their physicians.

03 August, 2010 | Vijayalakshmi Iyengar | Reply

This definitely puts calcium supplementation in the dock. However vegetarians do have a problem as calcium from dairy products is the only biological source easily available. Calcium from plant sources (dal, ragi, greens etc) are tied up with oxalates and phytates and so the bio-availability is low. With poor eating habits and jet set life it seems rather a difficult proposition to get sufficient calcium. Not that I am actively supporting supplementation but my son did benefit a lot during his growing years and an active physical life. Despite a diet rich in Calcium he was advised Ca supplementation which took care of his leg cramps and helped his growth spurts.

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