Supplemental Danger

Yesterday, I read a fairly disturbing study about calcium intake. The study, which was a retrospective study which took into account various factors, including supplement intake, showed that taking calcium supplements significantly increased the risk of heart attack. The exact findings are as follows:

• Participants who took supplements that included calcium were 86 percent more likely to have a heart attack, compared to people who didn’t take any supplements.
• Participants who only took calcium pills were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack. 

This is fairly disturbing, but not the first time a supplement has been indicated in a problem. A 2004 study showed that taking mega-doses of Vitamin E as supplements increased risk of death. Just like calcium, Vitamin E was previously shown to be helpful. Several other studies have shown single supplements, and even the ubiquitous multivitamin to be harmful.

What is the common link between all of these studies? The fact that it is a supplement. When we isolate a chemical from food, and put it in a pill, something happens. At best, it loses its effectiveness. At worst, it becomes harmful. The supplement study is only part of the story. In fact, rarely has a supplement ever been shown to be helpful in pill form. I have previously spoken about fiber, which is not effective in the myriad of powders and pills that are sold, and is only beneficial when taken as part of the food.

Why is it that our pills do not help us? I believe it is because we have an incomplete understanding of how food works. While we do our chemistry and isolate these chemicals, and then take them, we are unaware of the thousands of other compounds in the food which contribute to the action of the "vitamin" that we have isolated.

But Jake, you ask, what about calcium? I know I have to take a supplement of at least 1500 mg of calcium a day for bone health? My doctor told me so. All parts of the above statement are wrong. I will spend the rest of this post debunking the calcium myth:

1. Calcium intake is required to prevent osteoporosis: Point one is a partial truth. Bones are comprised of a matrix of calcium phosphate. In order to build or maintain bone, you must have some calcium. Where this truth gets distorted is in the advertising. People in this country have spent billions of dollars associating two items in our brain: milk and calcium. I wrote a previous post about this, but the short version is that milk does nothing to prevent osteoporosis. If it did, then the countries with the most milk intake would have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. In fact, the opposite is true. The more milk a country consumes, the HIGHER rate of osteoporosis it has.

2. Calcium supplements (or mega-doses of milk) are needed, because dietary sources are inadequate: The milk people, and the people who sell the pills would have you believe that people cannot get enough calcium from their diets, and thus some form of supplementation is necessary. Though good for the old bottom line, this "fact" is simply not true. Here is a list of foods which are rich dietary sources of calcium:


Spinach
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Collard greens
Blackstrap molasses
Swiss chard
Kale
Basil, thyme, dill seed, cinnamon, and peppermint leaves
Romaine lettuce
Rhubarb
Broccoli
Sesame seeds
Fennel
Cabbage
Summer squash
Green beans
Garlic
Tofu
Brussel sprouts
Oranges
Asparagus
Crimini mushrooms

Many of these foods have as much or more calcium as milk, and are rich in untold other nutrients as well.

So, in summary, there is no need to take a calcium supplement, especially given the results of the study that came out yesterday. The formula for bone health is simple:

1. Eat a wide variety of plant foods, which are rich in all the nutrients you need.
2. Avoid excess protein intake. The acid load that proteins provide actually dissolve bone.
3. Perform load bearing exercise (running, jumping, etc...) the impact stimulates bone formation.

Good Eating,

 




M. Jacob Ott, M.D.