Be aware: The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve dietary supplements for security or effectiveness. Discuss to a healthcare skilled about whether or not a complement is the best match on your particular person well being, and about any potential drug interactions or security issues.
If you happen to’re involved you’re not getting sufficient calcium, you could be contemplating dietary supplements. There’s little question that calcium is important for sturdy tooth and bones — and has lengthy been thought-about a key complement for stopping bone loss in ladies — however the way in which you ingest it issues.
Getting sufficient calcium from meals, slightly than dietary supplements, is usually really helpful for most individuals. Calcium dietary supplements might even pose well being dangers, particularly in older adults and girls postmenopause.
Past these teams, calcium dietary supplements may cause a spread of unwanted effects price realizing about earlier than you begin taking them.
1. Could Scale back Nutrient Absorption
If you happen to select to make use of calcium along with different vitamin and mineral dietary supplements, Dr. Stephenson recommends staggering your consumption of every by a number of hours. This helps make sure that your physique is ready to take up every nutrient effectively.
Calcium dietary supplements additionally lack the extra vitamins you get when consuming calcium-rich meals. “Calcium-rich meals typically comprise vitamin Ok, vitamin D, and magnesium. These vitamins assist maximize your calcium consumption,” says Yoon Grasp Kim, MD, MPH, a board-certified preventive drugs doctor and integrative practical drugs practitioner in San Antonio, Texas.
2. Could Trigger Constipation
In contrast to meals, which accommodates small, manageable quantities of calcium, dietary supplements decelerate the passage of meals by the digestive tract. This will trigger gastrointestinal (GI) points like constipation, fuel, and bloating.
If you happen to take calcium dietary supplements, dividing your day by day dose into smaller increments might cut back this impact. “The physique absorbs calcium most effectively when calcium dietary supplements are taken in small doses, slightly than in a single massive, day by day quantity,” explains Shaye Arluk, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist and diet and wellness coordinator with Sentara Brock Most cancers in Norfolk, Virginia.
3. Could Result in Hypercalcemia
4. Could Work together With Drugs
- Thyroid medicines like levothyroxine
- Antibiotics used to deal with bacterial infections
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) therapies like dolutegravir
It’s greatest to seek the advice of your healthcare supplier earlier than beginning calcium supplementation if you happen to take medicines, Arluk says.
5. Could Increase the Danger of Kidney Stones
6. Could Enhance Coronary heart Illness Danger
“Most individuals can take calcium dietary supplements safely, carefully,” Dr. Kim says. However he recommends turning to calcium-rich meals as a substitute of dietary supplements if in case you have a private or household historical past of coronary heart illness.
Who Nonetheless May Want Calcium Dietary supplements?
“The one inhabitants I ever suggest specializing in dietary supplements are these with a real lactose intolerance or dairy allergy, who can’t get the really helpful dietary consumption from meals alone,” she provides.
If you happen to’re anxious that you simply’re not getting sufficient calcium from meals, focus on your issues with a healthcare supplier. They might help you weigh the dangers with the advantages of calcium dietary supplements to find out if dietary supplements are applicable for you.
The Takeaway
- Calcium dietary supplements may cause unwanted effects, together with constipation, diminished absorption of different minerals, and — when taken in extra — hypercalcemia, kidney stones, and will enhance cardiovascular threat.
- Getting calcium from meals is preferable to dietary supplements for most individuals, as meals sources present further vitamins like vitamin Ok, vitamin D, and magnesium that assist the physique use calcium successfully.
- Dietary supplements could also be applicable for folks with lactose intolerance or dairy allergic reactions who cannot meet their calcium wants by eating regimen. However anybody contemplating them ought to seek the advice of a healthcare supplier first.
