Ask Doctor K: Get calcium from food rather than pills
DEAR DOCTOR K: Many years ago, my doctor told me that men, like women, should take calcium supplements. So I have been. Now I hear that it’s a bad idea. What do you think?
DEAR READER: All of us wish we had all the answers. Unfortunately, the way the human body works, and malfunctions, is complicated. To understand it, we conduct research. But no study is perfect.
There’s no doubt we all need calcium. It helps muscles to contract, blood to clot and nerves to communicate, and it plays an important role in building strong teeth and bones.
One recent study followed the health of nearly 400,000 men and women. Over the course of 12 years, men who took more than 1,000 milligrams of supplemental calcium per day were 20 percent more likely to succumb to heart disease than those who didn’t take calcium supplements. But there was no connection between calcium supplements and heart disease in women, and there was no connection with calcium from food.
Another recent study followed more than 61,000 women in Sweden. Among women who took more than 1,400 mg per day of calcium supplements, the risk of premature death was more than doubled.
Both of these studies involved large numbers of people and were carefully conducted. Yet they were observational studies, and you can’t make judgments about cause and effect from such studies.
So the question of whether men should take calcium supplements is controversial. My advice to patients is to emphasize calcium-rich foods. Men do not need as much calcium as women because we are less likely to develop osteoporosis.
With the safety of supplements in question, try to get as much calcium as possible from food. Good sources include: