Are Calcium Supplements Hurting Your Heart?

Calcium supplements are safe, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, but are they effective? New studies suggest that there is no positive correlation between taking calcium supplements and experiencing any significant increase in bone health. In fact, there are some indications that using calcium supplements rather than consuming a diet with a high calcium content, may increase the amount of plaque buildup in patients’ arteries. Over half of the adults in the U.S. take some form of daily vitamin or supplement, and most of them are choosing to take these without the advice of a trained medical professional. Only 23 percent of supplements or vitamins taken in 2007-2010 were suggested by a health care provider, according to research done at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. People are obviously taking these supplements as an attempt to improve their quality of life and health, but many first-rate trials have discovered that these products generally have no greater effect than a placebo pill. Often, if no negative result is seen then patients will continue to use the product and assume a positive effect. Even if this is the case, or if people are simply being persuaded by the $32 billion advertising employed by the supplement industry, they may still be experiencing dangerous, hidden side effects. Whether it is the calcium salt content in these supplements that isn’t found in a high-calcium diet or of the body is simply unable to process such a large amount of calcium at once, CT scans reveal that those who consume calcium supplements are more likely to develop the aforementioned plaque blockages. Compare that to those who simply obtained their calcium by eating more than 1,400 milligrams of calcium a day, who are 27 percent less likely to experience a plaque buildup in their arteries. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqJF9J-6Io[/embed]