Calcium supplements can be dangerous
- Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
- Mar 25, 2019
- 2 min read
Many people are worry about consuming enough calcium so they use supplements to have adequate intake. In fact it is easy to consume adequate calcium which is 1000-1200 mg/daily through high intake of calcium rich food like broccoli, tofu, molasses, sesame seeds and collard greens.
Taking excessive calcium will not lead to stronger bones instead it raises blood calcium and lead to many disease. In fact, you may have high blood calcium even your intake is low and this is due to many conditions like overactive parathyroid glands, cancer and some medications may cause hypercalcemia which is simply high level of blood calcium than normal level.
1. MORTALITY RISK
According to a Swedish study, people who take calcium supplementation are at higher risk of short lifespan.
After conducting the study and evaluating other lifestyle factors like smoking, diet and exercise they concluded that women who have 1400 mg of calcium are at higher risk of death from heart disease.
As well they concluded that no need for supplements as you can have adequate intake from a well-balanced diet.
2. KIDNEY STONES
High dose of calcium may make kidney’s work harder as they face difficulty in filtering extra calcium.
Moreover, calcium will form crystals that lead to kidney stones.
According to some studies and research calcium supplementation increases the risk of kidney stones while vitamin D supplementation lower the risk.
3. IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT
Calcium is important for signal transmit as well for muscle contractions.
Low level of calcium has been linked to irregular heartbeat and can lead to sudden death.
Moreover, high level of calcium is linked to irregular rhythm. So you need to check with your doctor.
4. KIDNEY FAILURE
As I did mention in the paragraph above, too much calcium overworks the kidneys, and this can lead to kidney failure over the years. Even though kidney failure due to high blood calcium levels is rare, the effects are more severe.
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