Calcium Supplements May Hurt the Heart
May 24th, 2012 tmccoy
A new study has found that taking excess calcium may raise your risk of a heart attack. People who were taking calcium supplements of at least 500 milligrams a day had a 30% higher risk of a heart attack as compared to those who were not taking the supplement. People who got their calcium from supplements only had double the risk of a heart attack as compared to those who got all of their calcium from their diets.
Previous research has shown that people who have high levels of calcium in their diet typically are less likely to be obese, have hypertension or Type 2 diabetes. The new study found only a correlation between heart attack risk and increase in calcium supplement use, not a cause and effect link. The study was published online in a journal titled Heart. The study involved 24,000 people between the ages of 35 and 64 at the beginning of the study and went on for eleven years.
The findings of these dietary studies may not be very reliable as there are many different factors regarding whether one has an increased risk of a heart attack, and people do not always perfectly remember what foods they typically eat or how often and how much of a supplement they take.
