Calcium; good sometimes, sometimes not

Calcium can be very helpful for health, however it can be very harmful in some situations.

Calcium is a fat soluble mineral. It works with vitamin D (a fat soluble vitamin), parathyroid hormone and other factors for absorption. For most people who have a hyperthroid condition, the excessive functioning of the thyroid is a cause of wasting calcium and this may precipitate osteopenia or osteoporosis.

If you are following a non-fat or low-fat food plan you may have difficulty absorbing this mineral.

If you are using cheap vitamins, usually containing calcium carbonate (like Bon-Ami cleanser or Tums) you can develop difficulties with calcium deposits throughout your body and such problems like bone spurs. Calcium carbonate can also impair the blood buffering system and cause your blood pH to become imbalanced.

Most calcium products also are of an incorrect mix of the cal-mag ratio. And remember there is more to bone health than calcium.

We highly recommend using Calcium lactate (safe for those allergic to milk) and using our MC2 blend.

Study suggests heart risk from calcium supplements
Wed Jan 16, 9:24 AM ET

Older women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may have an increased risk of heart attack, researchers in New Zealand said on Tuesday.

The researchers cautioned that they do not consider their findings the definitive word on the subject, but said the higher heart attack risk they saw merits further study.

"This effect could outweigh any benefits on bone from calcium supplements," researchers led by Ian Reid of the University of Auckland wrote in the British Medical Journal.

Many women take calcium supplements to try to prevent osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become weak and brittle, leading to fractures.

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.

The researchers noted that previous research had suggested that taking calcium supplements might protect against vascular disease by lowering levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.

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.

The new results "are not conclusive but suggest that high calcium intakes might have an adverse effect on vascular health," the researchers wrote.

"In the meantime this potentially detrimental effect should be balanced against the likely benefits of calcium on bone, particularly in elderly women," they wrote.

(Reporting by Will Dunham, Editing by Maggie Fox and Cynthia Osterman)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.