Stop calcium! Taking more than 500 mg of calcium tablets a day increases the risk of heart disease

Many elderly people have osteoporosis problems to varying degrees. Their biggest worry is that they might accidentally fall and end up with cracked or fractured bones that take a long time to heal. That is why doctors recommend taking calcium pills daily to replenish the calcium lost from the body. However, two long-term and large-scale studies by European and American research teams have pointed out that taking more than 500 mg of calcium pills daily will instantly increase the mineral concentration in the blood, causing the risk of cardiovascular disease to be 30% to 90% higher than that of the average person.

Most middle-aged and elderly people take calcium tablets regularly to replenish the calcium that is rapidly lost from the body. However, Swiss researchers have warned that taking calcium tablets will nearly double the risk of heart disease, and it is best to get a fixed amount of calcium from your daily diet.

The New York Times quoted a report from Heart magazine on the 24th that the University of Zurich in Switzerland surveyed 24,000 Germans aged 35 to 64, tracking their health, diet and supplement habits through questionnaires for 11 years. The results showed that people who relied on calcium tablets for a long time had an 86% increase in the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke or related diseases compared with the control group. A similar study in 2008 also pointed out that taking more than 500 milligrams of calcium supplements per day would increase the risk of heart disease by 30%. The more you consume, the higher the risk, showing a "one good thing, no two good things" situation.

Researchers pointed out that swallowing calcium tablets will cause a "flooding effect" in the mineral concentration in the blood, which will put a burden on the heart. On the contrary, if calcium is taken in in a balanced and gradual manner from dairy products and leafy vegetables, allowing the body time to absorb and metabolize it, even 800 mg a day will not cause a burden on the cardiovascular system. According to the recommendations of the UK Food Standards Agency, the upper limit of calcium that adults can get from food is 700 mg per day, while the Swiss health authorities have set the standard at 1,100 mg. Unless necessary, try not to take calcium tablets without authorization, so as to avoid damaging your cardiovascular system instead of achieving the "bone strengthening" effect.