Study linking calcium to heart attack risk flawed, says doctor

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine claims that people who supplement with calcium are at an increased risk of having a heart attack. But Dr. Steven Joyal, MD, President of Scientific and Medical Affairs at the Life Extension Foundation, says that the study is completely flawed and misleading, and that calcium is a vital nutrient for preventing heart problems.

In a rebuttal, Dr. Joyal explains why the methodology used in the study was flawed, and why calcium supplementation is actually highly beneficial in preventing heart attacks, especially when used together with vitamin D, vitamin K and magnesium.

According to Dr. Joyal's analysis, study authors excluded participants who took vitamin D and magnesium in conjunction with calcium, which skewed the results. These two nutrients work together with calcium to protect bone health. Most of those included as part of the study, though they were taking some level of calcium, were deficient in vitamin D, and vitamin D deficiency increases cardiovascular risk. None of these factors were made plain in the study paper.

Dr. Joyal also emphasizes that study authors conveniently eliminated many of the studies directly linking calcium intake to reduced cardiovascular events. Even when taken alone, calcium has been shown to be beneficial to heart health. But these studies were not included as part of the official paper, either.

Scientific experiments have shown that people who are calcium deficient actually have a 170 percent increased rate of blood vessel calcification, which is a factor in causing heart problems. Those who supplement with calcium, on the other hand, reduce their calcification levels by 62 percent.

Sources for this story include:

https://www.lef.org/featured-article...

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What is the consensus on the proper Calcium to Magnesium ratio. I have read two to one, one to one, and most everything in between.

I have not been supplementing Calcium but do take half doses of Magnesium Malate. My doctor suggests adding Calcium, but did not say how much.

Dan

In my book, 2:1 is the standard. But given that most diets tend to contain a higher proportion of calcium to magnesium, I'd certainly value a 1:1 ratio.

Trouble with just thinking about the intake of calcium and magnesium is that it doesn't take account of the excretion rates.

We all know that a highly acidic diet leaches the calcium out of your body and you pee your bones down the loo.
Similarly a high omega 6 intake will cause loss of magnesium.
alcohol increases urinary magnesium excretion by as much as 260% above baseline values; this occurs within minutes of ingestion or parenteral administration.

Lack of Magnesium is associated with aggression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.
While I appreciate it's difficult to work out how much calcium you are excreting it's not that difficult to work out how much is in your food and water and total it up to ensure at least 1000~1200mg is present every day. Urine test strips are pretty easy and cheap to use and they should be able sufficient to keep your urine in balance.
This magnesium bicarbonate water will not only raise your magnesium level but also by correcting ph also help you retain calcium.
I don't see what is the problem with limiting calcium intake from supplements to 600mg/daily maximum and ensuring the reast (sufficient to make daily total around 12OOmg /daily)
In the same way it's not a smart idea to have too little or too much calcium the same applies to magnesium. We just have to bear in mind that folks who consume diary products, fish with bones, veggies nuts and pulse are probably not going to require huge amounts of supplemental calcium and it's not that difficult to repeat the exercise for magnesium which is far more likely to be insufficient,

Bill Sardi doesnt like calcium supplementation either in his comprehensive survey of the dangers of overdosing particularly for women.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi175.html