The Safest Way to Create Strong Bones

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Feed a cold starve a fever. Calcium makes strong bones. These sayings roll off our tongues and are ingrained in our minds. 

For decades, the health care industry has instilled in Americans the importance of getting enough calcium because the body cannot make calcium on its own. Calcium performs several critical functions. It helps regulate the heartbeat, stimulates hormone secretions, clots blood, and most notoriously it helps build and maintain healthy bones.

Our bodies lose calcium every day through the skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine and feces. Without enough consumption, the body will take the calcium it needs from bones and muscle. This leaching can cause muscle to break down, and bones to weaken, become fragile, and break over time.

How Much is Enough

Our bodies need about 1,000 and 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day. That translates roughly into a slice of cheese, yogurt and a glass of milk. If dairy isn’t for you, there are other food sources rich in calcium including those listed in the box below.

Non-dairy Foods that are High in Calcium

Spinach

Brussel sprouts

Many people find it difficult to get enough calcium from food alone, and have turned to supplements. Calcium supplementation has been advised, particularly for older seniors, in an effort to prevent osteoporosis.  

As society becomes increasingly seduced by no-sweat solutions, the number of people taking calcium has shot up dramatically. It’s created a lucrative market for the supplement industry, which is pumping out all kinds of creative products like calcium chews and fortified milk products.  

The Dangers of Calcium Supplements

Supplements may be good for some people, but they are definitely not for everyone.  In fact, calcium supplements can be downright harmful to people who are predisposed to heart disease.

According to a recent study, calcium supplements increase the risk of heart attacks. 

A Swiss and German research team studied 24,000 men and women ages 35 to 64 over an eleven period. They found that those who regularly took calcium supplements had an 86 percent increased risk of heart attack compared to those who did not use supplements. Study subjects whose sole calcium intake was from supplements were a whopping 139 percent more likely to have a heart attack.

Sixty percent of women over the age of 60 take calcium supplements.  This is up from 28 percent only twenty years ago.* 

Researchers found that patients who experienced the coronary calcification were predisposed genetically for heart disease. The over consumption of calcium supplements created the perfect storm for hardening of the arteries unnecessarily.

The researchers concluded the study with a warning that calcium supplements should be used with caution. Given that heart disease is the number one killer of women, this is a warning that commands attention.

A Safe and Simple Solution

Supplements were never intended to take the place of healthy habits such as eating fruits and vegetables and getting regular exercise. They were created to supplement a balanced life. 

The sometimes-fatal flaw of calcium supplements is a potential inability to metabolize the excess calcium that can be flooded into one’s body if taken in excess. This same problem does not exist if calcium is introduced through food sources.

Both osteoporosis and heart disease can be prevented through basic lifestyle changes. Studies repeatedly show that people who eat a balanced nutritional diet and get regular cardiovascular and weight resistance exercise can reduce or prevent both conditions.

The simple answer is this: the safest way to build strong bones and a healthy heart comes in the form of balanced nutritional diet and weight bearing activities, not a pill.  

* Source:  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics