Recently published articles in the medical literature have revealed a strong association between calcium supplements and heart disease. Many in the medical community are surprised by these studies and have a hard time accepting them. Perhaps these are the very same medical professionals that have been recommending calcium supplementation for decades, claiming that calcium is “good for your bones”. The assumption all along has been that the extra calcium will find its way into your bones and protect you from getting a fracture secondary to osteoporosis (porous bones). Dr. Michael Rothman has been warning his patients for years about the dangers of excess calcium supplementation. He would ask, “How do you know that the calcium is going into your bones? Perhaps this calcium is ending up in your brain or your kidneys, or your blood vessels.”
Scientific reasons why calcium supplementation increases cardiovascular disease
- Calcium is “nature’s band-aid” – Whenever there is an injury to the tissues in your body, calcium will be incorporated into those tissues to act as a “band-aid”. Examples – calcific tendonitis (calcium deposited in tendons in area of injury), calcium build up as in “bone spurs”, enlarged joints in various forms of arthritis are caused by calcium deposits. In addition, calcium will also go to injured tissue in your brain, your kidneys and pretty much anywhere damage occurs.
- Arterioclerosis or “hardening of the arteries”, is the deposition of calcium into your blood vessels. In fact many people are getting ultrasounds and CAT scans of their heart and blood vessels to screen for heart disease. The higher your “calcium score”, the worse your heart disease.
- Calcium Channel blockers – These are drugs that are used to lower blood pressure and heart rate are prescribed to patients in an attempt to reduce their chances of developing a heart attack or stroke.
- Calcium is a potent stimulator of your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). The SNS is the part of your nervous system that mediates the “fight or flight response”. Calcium helps promote the secretion of adrenaline from your adrenal glands. The adrenaline release increases your heart rate and blood pressure. This is the reason that calcium channel blocker drugs work to lower heart rate and blood pressure.
