Study suggests heart risk from calcium supplements

Older women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may have an increased risk of heart attack, researchers led by Ian Reid of the University of Auckland wrote in the British Medical Journal.

The study involved 1,471 healthy post-menopausal women, average age 74, who already had participated in a study on the effects of calcium on bone density and fracture rates. Of them, 732 were given a daily calcium supplement and 739 were given a placebo. They were followed for five years.

Heart attacks were more common in the women taking the calcium supplements, with 31 women who took supplements experiencing a heart attack compared to 21 women who got a placebo, the researchers said.

They said that because calcium supplements raise blood calcium levels, this possibly accelerates the formation of deposits in the arteries that could lead to heart attack.

Bonnie - it is about time that we see this in a medical journal! As I have said incessantly, calcium, when supplemented improperly (such as a poorly absorbed source like carbonate, or not taken in conjunction with magnesium and vitamin D), creates calcification. Where do calcium deposits go? Into our brain kidneys, heart, etc.

Women especially ingest way too much calcium and choose poorly absorbed sources. In the near future, the mainstream will finally discover that the key to healthy bones later in life is a combination of lifestyle choices (exercise), low inflammation (anti-inflammatory diet), and the proper ratio of supplemental calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium.