Calcium supplements taken by many elderly people could be increasing their risk of a heart attack, a new study claims.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10805062

This story has been all over the British papers and is currently advancing over the Net!

What they don't say is that the patients were taking unsupported calcium i.e. no vitamin D, no magnesium - both essential for the proper absorption and utilization of calcium. Plus being doctor-prescribed the calcium in question would have been the poorly absorbed calcium carnbonate. No wonder it had little or no effect on their osteoporosis!

All vitamins and minerals have a synergistic effect. Taking too much of one can make you deficient in another. Too much calcium will make you deficient in magnesium (and zinc).

Magnesium is essential for heart health.
*It is especially important in controlling calcium entry into heart cells to trigger a regular heart beat.
*People with low levels of magnesium are more at risk of spasm of the coronary arteries (linked with angina and heart attacks)
Plus:
*As magnesium regulates the movement of calcium in and out of cells, it is important for bone health and preventing osteoporosis.

No wonder they came up with the 'heart problems' result!

Giving calcium alone is ridiculous. Advising doctors to stop advising supplementation is even more ridiculous.
The best thing to do is take an Osteo Complex supplement. Cal/Mag in the correct ratio , usually 2:1 and pref. chelated, with vitamin D, boron, zinc and a nominal amount of copper.

I always tell people to take magnesium. Especially if the take calcium.

Here is a reasonable summary of the story.
Calcium linked to higher risk of heart attacks BMJ Group

Dr Davis Heartscanblog has been warning about too much supplemental calcium for some time. He specializes in reducing calcification by using scans to monitor the effect of his dietary and lifestyle modifications and uses EFFECTIVE strength D3 supplements so has first hand knowledge of the need (or lack of) calcium when 25(OH)D levels are above 40ng/ml.

this paper shows that
Dietary calcium and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in relation to BMD among U.S. adults. Above vitamin D Levels of > 20 ng/ml Men don't need more than 626 mg/day supplemental calcium, and women with D don't need more than 566 mg/day.

If you raise your 25(OH)D to around or above 40ng it's possible you will absorb even more calcium from food/water and thus be able to reduce supplemental calcium even more.

Magnesium counterbalances the actions of calcium so it's important to ensure you are getting sufficient magnesium anyway and particularly if you use calcium supplements. See what Krispin says here It is more likely you are deficient in magnesium than calcium as food/water sources of calcium are more readily available but modern crop varieties have reduced magnesium content.

Vitamin K2 also helps to lock calcium into bones and checking the acidity of your urine

reducing the acidogenicity of the diet into the alkali-producing range with bicarbonate lowers calcium excretion and the bone resorption rate in healthy older men and women consuming rather typical acid-producing American diets.

Recipe for Magnesium Bicarbonate water

For UK readers the cheapo discount retailer Aldi do a carbonated spring water �1 for 4 x 2lt with a high magnesium bicarbonate level, for those without access to a soda stream.

remember
-Adults under age 50 need a total of 1,000 mg of calcium from all sources every day.

-Adults 50 and older need a total of 1,200 mg of calcium from all sources every day. and the
BEST source is diet = food and water

We should be getting MOST of our calcium from FOOD and WATER,

It's not that difficult to ring your local water provider or check their internet based information or read the label on your bottled water, then do the sums based on your total daily water consumption.

Same with food sources, it may take a bit of time to work out roughly how much yoghurt, cheese, milk fish greens etc. you average daily over the week but it's fairly straightforward.

Milk & yogurt 8 oz 300-450 mg
Cheese 3 oz 300-450 mg
Bones in canned sardines and salmon 3 oz 181-325 mg
Calcium fortified foods (i.e., orange juice, soy milk) 8 oz 200-300mg
Dark green, leafy vegetables 1 cup 100-200 mg

It's then just basic math to add those figures together and subtract from 1200mg/daily to work out how much calcium you need to supplement with.
If the difference between what you are getting from diet and need to supplement with is more than 500mg then it's a matter of seeing how you can improve you dietary intake so you are not needing to take 500mg or more daily.
Remember also that Calcium Carbonate is the supplement form MOST likely associated with problems and the least likely to cause problems is Calcium Citrate/Malate blends code WAB666 $5 introductory discount Looks like they may be cheaper from Vitaminlife if you can't use the discount code (depending on shipping cost) remember no one should be taking the recommended serving size because you should ALL be getting the greatest amount of calcium from your food/water, and the supplement should only be to make up any shortfall.

I'm sure that I'm repeating myself, but it bears repeating.

Calcium constricts the blood vessels.
Magnesium dilates the blood vessels.
Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker.

They should not be supplemented at the same time.

__________________
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- Jim
"A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something." �Wilson Mizner

Thanks I should have given that reminder myself.

Magnesium is best in small amounts with food.
So maybe split the tablet in 2 and take half tablet with each meal.
Then take the CCM (if required to total 1200mg/daily intake) at night before bed when you body reconstructs your bones. While calcium carbonate has to be taken with food it's not the case with the citrate/malate blend

Hello Ted. Nice to meet you.

I would certainly agreee with you that in an ideal world we would all get all our required nutrients from our diets, but alas that is not the case. As the huge number of people with osteoporosis shows.

It also should be remembered that as we get older we tend to eat less. This is certainly so for the over 70s and 80s. Plus as they get older a person's ability to assimilate calcium from their diet diminishes.

I would advise everyone who has or who is at risk of osteoporosis to take a (chelated) Osteo Complex supplement daily, pref. as a divided dose, one in the morning and one in the evening, regardless of their age.

Thanks jfh, I wonder why there are so many Cal/Mag supplement combos out there then. When they told me I had Osteopenia, they said to take 1200mg+ of calcium and vitamin D everyday.

I was already taking a Cal/Mag/D capsule everyday, 500mg calcium. That's when I eliminated the calcium and increased magnesium and D in my daily routine. I haven't been re-tested, because I don't want to be scanned again, but I feel good because I don't want excess calcium blocking my arteries, rather chance a broken hip.

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I'm not convinced that we can always get enough calcium from diet. If any of us have a condition due to low calcium, I believe a supplement is necessary. However, that supplement should be taken a few hours away from magnesium. So, I'd say calcium and D together in the morning, and magnesium closer to bedtime for calming etc.