Just Say No to Calcium?

Do calcium supplements raise your heart attack risk? There has been a lot of contraversy over the last several months about whether it is advisable to take calcium supplements. Calcium is important to overall health, and the body’s supply depletes with age — but are you better off just getting your daily supply from the food that you eat?

Click here to watch the ABC discussion on calcium supplements

In a related article, Dr. S. X. Ke, a traditional Chinese medicine practioner, notes: “Osteoporosis, for example, is a common problem amongst the elderly. As is widely known, the problem here lies in the decalcification of the bone: the lack of calcium. Western medicine addresses the problem by increasing the patients’ daily dose of calcium. They are advised to drink more milk, or take supplementary calcium tablets. But the results are often dissatisfactory.”

Click here to read the entire article by Dr. S. X Ke

From the Council for Responsible Nutrition, we read, “Consistent messaging about preventive health strategies and practices, including nutrition, is essential for the success of large educational outreach programs” said CRN’s Taylor Wallace, Ph.D., senior director, scientific and regulatory affairs. Wallace said the USPSTF’s draft recommendations undermine the traditional cornerstones of nutrition information in the U.S. [the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) “Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D and the government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans”]. Wallace stated, as a result of this draft report and the accompanying media coverage, “…consumers and health care providers were left to ponder whether to abandon supplementation with vitamin D and calcium entirely, causing a potential public health threat.” www.naturalproductsinsider.com