Better bones, but risk of heart attack...a roll of the dice? BD
Scientists in New Zealand say healthy post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may be increasing their risk of heart attacks.
The researchers from the University of Auckland say this increased heart attack risk could outweigh the benefits to the bones from calcium supplements.
It is quite common for older women to take calcium supplements in order to prevent osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become weak and brittle, leading to fractures.
The researchers led by Ian Reid conducted a study involving 1,471 healthy post-menopausal women, aged 55 years or over who had previously taken part in a study to assess the effects of calcium on bone density and fracture rates.
Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks for older women
This is why people should not just resort to calcium supplements right away without looking into it.
ReplyDeleteThere is other ways to get sufficient amounts of calcium and other bone building nutrients without supplementation. There are many house hold foods which are rich in calcium and just adding them to your regular diet is easy enough to do. I think it is much better to spend a little extra time in the kitchen to make sure you are adding some calcium rich foods to your diet, rather than just craming a pill down your throat.
I use a tool on the internet that tells me the level of these important nutrients that I am getting from my diet. It is a cool tool and I use it often. The site does promote and sell a calcium supplement that I do not and will not use, but I will continue to use thier software aslong as it is available.
The Bone Health Calculator is free and easy to use and I would suggest it to anybody.