Calcium Supplement
Doctors have long recommended Calcium supplements to stave off the onset of osteoporosis, but a new study in the British Medical Journal purports to link high Calcium levels to an increased risk of heart attacks. The study looked at 15 published clinical trials of calcium supplements. In their analysis of 11 of the trials, the scientists observed 166 cases of heart attack among those who took 500 mg. or more of calcium daily and 130 cases among those who took a placebo. Overall, the heightened heart risk was about 30%.
However, another study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, followed 1,460 healthy women who were an average age of 75. After 41/2 years of follow-up, heart attack rates for those who took calcium were the same as those who took a placebo.
Study trials in which vitamin D was also given to patients getting calcium were excluded from the BMJ analysis. Critics say that vitamin D is commonly given with Calcium because the combination enhances the absorption and utilization of Calcium.
The exclusion also meant that several highly regarded clinical trials never made it into the analysis, including a few with conflicting findings.
This comes at a time when the Institute of Medicine Food & Nutrition Board released a report that establishes higher recommended intake levels for vitamin D. The new Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for children and adults ages 1-70 was increased to 600 IU/day and the RDA for those aged 71+ was raised to 800 IU/day. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level was raised from 2,000 to 4,000 IU/day for adults. Calcium intake RDAs remained essentially the same with a range of 700 – 1,300 mg per day depending on age and sex.
