A recent study in the British Medical Journal reports that calcium supplements, commonly taken for osteoporosis, are correlated with a 30% greater risk of a heart attack.
An international team of researchers analyzed the results of 11 controlled trials of calcium supplements involving 12,000 patients. They found that calcium supplements were again and again linked to an greater risk of heart attack. The findings were independent of age, sex, and type of supplement.
Professor John Cleland of the research team added that calcium supplements are ineffective in reducing fractures and questioned why patients should be exposed to the danger . He recommended that because of of this evidence, osteoporosis patients with should not be treated with calcium supplements, either alone or combined with vitamin D.
Calcium Supplementation Should Be Discontinued
Calcium is essential to all living things. It’s part of bones, teeth and other bony structures of the body. It is also carried in the blood, playing an important metabolic role; and it aids the nervous system.
But there have always been questions about the influence of calcium supplements because many experts doubted that they are absorbed by the body. Now we know they are inappropriate and dangerous.
The study’s lead researcher , Dr Ian R Reid of the University of Auckland, NZ, announced that women should discuss these findings with their doctors. “Discontinuation of calcium seems appropriate in most cases,” he said.
Doctors, he added, should tell their older patients that the risks of calcium supplements outweigh the benefits .
Calcium-Rich Foods Are Another Story High-calcium food is the way to go
But this is not the case for calcium-rich foods . Previous studies have found no increased cardiovascular risks with higher dietary calcium intake (from foods) — especially plant sources. It is well known that increasing your intake of these foods provides protection from bone fractures and osteoporosis because their calcium is readily absorbed. (A post-menopausal woman needs approximately 1,500 mg of calcium daily.)
Here are your ten best food sources of calcium:
| 1. Yogurt, one cup low-fat | 447 mg |
| 2. Sesame seeds, quarter cup | 351 mg |
| 3. Cow’s milk, one cup 2% | 297 mg |
| 4. Spinach, one cup boiled | 245 mg |
| 5. Collard greens, one cup boiled | 226 mg |
| 6. Turnip greens, one cup cooked | 197 mg |
| 7. Mozzarella, 1 ounce, part skim | 183 mg |
| 8. Blackstrap molasses, 2 teaspoons | 118 mg |
| 9. Tofu, 4 ounces raw | 100 mg |
| 10. Cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground | 56 mg |
Preventing and Healing Osteoporosis
The ideal time to prevent osteoporosis is when bones are forming, during childhood and the teen years. After that, maintenance of bone mass is key. Since our bones are constantly absorbing and reabsorbing calcium, we need to consume calcium-rich foods daily to prevent losses that result in softening of the bones. We can do this by consuming calcium-rich foods throughout a lifetime .
It is also very important (and some say more so) to stress your bones through weight-bearing exercise. This stimulates them to add mass just like stressing your muscles does.
So here’s the best non-drug strategy to prevent and reverse osteoporosis:
Get regular resistance exercise at home or gym
Eat as many foods every day from the top 10 Calcium rich Foods list
Limit sodium intake
Avoid junky meats and protein
Watch your weight
Quit smoking and ease up on caffeine because both rob the body of calcium.
Once again, the simple solution is the healthiest: Food and exercisearet the best medicine. Tell me what you think here — and how you are protecting your bones — at My Healing Kitchen.com.