Calcium pills 'increase heart attack risk'

[kiwibird]

Calcium pills 'increase heart attack risk'
Taking calcium supplements could increase the chance of having a heart attack by 30 per cent, a study published today indicates.

By Stephen Adams
Published: 6:00AM BST 30 Jul 2010

Academics at Auckland and Aberdeen universities found the link after reviewing 11 studies covering about 12,000 people, some of whom were taking supplements of 500mg of calcium compounds or more.

Such supplements are often prescribed to older women to prevent or help treat osteoporosis.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the authors concluded: "Serum calcium levels have been positively associated with an increased incidence of (heart attack) in large observational studies."

They also said the fact they so many people took calcium supplements meant they could be causing a large number of heart attacks, even though for many taking them would only lead to a slightly higher risk.

By comparison, taking calcium as part of a diet does not appear to have such a marked effect.

"Ingestion of equivalent doses of calcium from dairy products has a much smaller effect than calcium supplements on serum calcium levels," they said.

Today's study excluded patients who were taking both calcium and vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D is needed for the body to absorb calcium.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7916657/Calcium-pills-increase-heart-attack-risk.html

 

[mixin]

Re: Calcium pills 'increase heart attack risk'

The University of Arizona has a list of calcium rich foods, as well as other bone building info and links.
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/fcs/bb/highcalciumfds.html

They also say

The best exercises for building bone are weight- or load-bearing exercises. These include weight-lifting, jogging, hiking, stair-climbing, step aerobics, dancing, racquet sports, and other activities that require your muscles to work against gravity. Swimming and simply walking, although good for cardiovascular fitness, are not the best exercises for building bone. Thirty minutes of weight-bearing exercise daily benefits not only your bones, but improves heart health, muscle strength, coordination, and balance. Those 30 minutes don't need to be done all at once; it's just as good for you to do 10 minutes at a time.

The doctor can do a simple blood test for vitamin D deficiency.