On the news last night, some tidbits of information on nutritional supplementation were given. The emphasis was on calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, magnesium, and vitamin E. I’d like to expand on the story from a naturopathic perspective beginning with calcium.
Calcium supplementation is typically used for women over the age of 50, for the purpose of osteoporosis prevention. At first glance this is a logical solution. However, osteoporosis is no longer has begun to be understood as a result of calcium loss, as opposed to deficiency. What this means, is that it isn’t so much that our diet does not supply sufficient calcium. Rather, the problem is that we lose much of the calcium that is ingested. How? Well, a diet high in refined carbohyrates including sugar, saturated fats, animal protein and low in mineral rich vegetables causes that calcium in the bones to be leached out to offset this imbalance in the blood stream.
Furthermore, too much calcium supplementation can actually increase one’s risk for cardiovascular disease. Surprised? A correlation between calcium supplementation and heart disease has been found by a study conducted by Dr. Ian Reid, a professor of medicine and endocrinology at University of Auckland; this study was published by the British Medical Journal in April of last year. For more details on the study, go to:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110419/calcium-supplements-heart-110419/
The Take home message is that without a well-balanced diet, calcium supplementation would not provide the protection against osteoporosis as you may think it does. On the contrary, it can even predispose one to heart attacks. The best way to get adequate calcium into your bones is to get it though dietary sources, where the form of calcium is much more readily absorbed by the body, thereby reducing cardiovascular event risk compared to supplementing with calcium pills.
For information on Magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin E, please check back, I will be discussing those at a later date!
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