Taking Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements Together Could Increase Your Risk of Having a Stroke
Research published yesterday
announced that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements together might increase
your risk of having a stroke. This finding was published in a review of what’s currently known about
the effects of supplements on our health.
The review prompted some scary
headlines considering more than half of Americans take a dietary supplement of some sort, and calcium and
vitamin D are among the most common.
Research previously published
found that 37% of Americans took vitamin D and 43% took a calcium supplement.
Why
do we need calcium?
Ninety-nine percent of the body’s
calcium supply can be found in one’s teeth and bones. Calcium allows your blood
to clot and your muscles to contract in addition to keeping your bones healthy.
Women 50 years old and younger need
to consume 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Women 51 and up need to add another 200 milligrams to
that.
Why
do we need vitamin D?
Vitamin D, which is important for
children and adults, also plays a part in protecting bones and helps support
your muscles. Without adequate levels of vitamin D, you have an
increased risk of breaking bones as you get older, the National Osteoporosis
Foundation says.
Among the most popular ways to get
vitamin D is going outside. When sunlight reaches your skin, your body makes
vitamin D and stores it. Additionally, you can get it from fatty fish,
including wild-caught mackerel, tuna, and salmon. Vitamin D can also be found
in orange juice, fortified cereals, soymilk, and dairy products, including
milk.
What
does the new research say?
This isn’t the first time the
combination of calcium and vitamin D has been the subject of health stories.
“It’s been looked at a lot. A few years ago, articles came out that said the
same thing,” Stephen Kopecky, MD, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, tells Health.
Dr. Kopecky explains that you
shouldn’t panic if you’ve been taking vitamin D and calcium supplements
together. The authors of the new report looked at previously published evidence
concerning how supplements affect our health.
But Dr. Kopecky says many of the
studies that have looked at the use of vitamin D and calcium supplements rely on
follow-up data that lacks precision. If a study participant died before the
data was gathered, for example, his or her family member ended up filling out a
questionnaire about their deceased relative’s health. Questionnaires are, of
course, subject to human error.
Dr. Kopecky says studies that don’t
rely on questionnaires later found that use of calcium and vitamin D
supplements did not increase one’s risk of stroke or heart attack. “That has no
correlation whatsoever,” he says. (However, a number of factors can increase
your risk of having a stroke, including being overweight, binge drinking, and
not getting enough exercise.)
He adds that if you’ve been told to
take calcium and vitamin D supplements by your doctor, you
shouldn’t stop. If you’ve been taking the supplements on the advice of someone
else, though, you might want to reevaluate. “I would speak to a caregiver or
primary care provider. Say, ‘Do I really need this stuff?’”
How
should you be getting vitamin D and calcium?
To reiterate, you shouldn’t stop
taking supplements your doctor has recommended just because of this new review.
But if you’re worried about your calcium and vitamin D intake, and you
currently don’t take either of the supplements, try getting the recommended
amount of calcium and vitamin D via lifestyle changes rather than pills, Dr. Kopecky
suggests.
“A pill doesn’t make up for our
deficient lifestyle. That’s what every study has shown,” he explains.
“It’s always better to get it in
your diet if you can. People tend to take supplements to make up for their
diet. [Therefore, supplement use] can be a marker of a bad diet.”
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