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The most wonderful thing about science is that it’s perfectly OK – actually it’s encouraged – to change your mind when new information comes about.
This is what makes me angry about religion and politics. One refuses to change or changes very slowly, and in the other you are considered a flip-flopper. I’m about to change my mind on the whole calcium/magnesium supplementation based on this one study, published on May 23, 2012 in the British Medical Journal.
This prospective cohort study was called:
It was performed in Europe with almost 24,000 participants, and average follow up was 11 years. The study showed a statistical significance of MI (myocardial infarction or heart attack) for calcium supplement users. There was no increase in stroke or CVD (death by heart attack). Previously thought to help the heart, calcium supplements have now shown to harm it.
This study seems pretty comprehensive – a large population and a long follow up. The only problem I see is that it’s a cohort study, not a randomized controlled trial – the RCT is preferable when it can be done (I can see that an 11 year average for this one would make it very hard to do).
So I retract my previous calcium/magnesium comments, and firmly hold on to the privilege of changing my mind.
I’ve stopped taking the supplements today, but the calcium already in my diet should be plenty (spinach, cheese, nuts)…
Addendum 7/12/2012:
I went back briefly to calcium/magnesium supplements every second day for a month or so, mostly because my sleep was suffering (real or imagined). I then re-thought the whole process, and said “I can work through this” to myself. And I did. I’ve been off calcium/magnesium supplements for a few weeks now, and there was an initial rebound insomnia to deal with. But I’ve been careful to make sure I have enough dietary sources of calcium (cheese, spinach – often in the same salad) to make sure my levels are close to optimum. And now my sleep has returned to the “new normal” for me (not like it was five years ago, but good enough for an insomniac!).
So Anita – where are you getting the K2 from? And how much? My diet already has a lot of cheese in it, so am wondering if supplementation is really required? Thanks for reading!!
Cheers,
Doug
One more thing . . . it’s important to take the right kind of vitamin K2. Dr. Mercola explains this on his website: The best natural source of vitamin K2 is derived from an ancient Japanese food called Natto. Natto is made from fermented soybeans and significant amounts of vitamin K2 are produced during the fermentation process.
Although natto would be the highest source, other fermented foods like cheese are also loaded with it. If you find yourself not consuming enough fermented foods, you will certainly want to consider taking a supplement, especially if you have osteoporosis. Vitamin K2 is probably one of the least appreciated supplements to regain bone density.
It’s important to note that vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means that in order for your body to absorb it effectively, you need to eat some fat along with it.
I was afraid to take calcium because I too had heard about the heart connection, so I was glad to learn about the K2 thing and since I’m heading into menopause and having trouble sleeping/staying asleep I’m about to start using calcium/magnesium again along with vitamins D3 and K2 (K2 is also supposed to be taken when supplementing with D3, I read). When I came across this site, I felt compelled to share what I had learned about K2 to possibly help others who want to take calcium/magnesium for sleep or other reasons (I’ve read posts on forums about them also helping women who have palpitations during menopause, which I am also experiencing).
Thanks for this info, Anita! I now have to rethink my rethinking on Calcium. If Vitamin K helps absorption into the bones, and the reason behind the increased incidence of heart attack with calcium supplements was poor absorption into the bones, then maybe Calcium supplementation with that proviso makes sense again???!?
Vitamin K2 helps direct calcium to the bones so that it stays out of the arteries and soft tissues.
Dr. Joseph Mercola says the following on his website at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/16/vitamins-d-and-k2-reduce-osteoporosis.aspx
Why Vitamin K is So Important if You Take Calcium and Vitamin D
If you currently take calcium and vitamin D for your bones, it’s important that you also get plenty of vitamin K2. These three nutrients have a synergistic effect that cannot be achieved when one piece of the puzzle is missing. Specifically, here’s a simple explanation of why the benefits of calcium and vitamin D are largely dependent on vitamin K:
•Calcium: There is new evidence that it is vitamin K (specifically, vitamin K2) that directs calcium to your skeleton, while preventing it from being deposited where you don’t want it — i.e., your organs, joint spaces, and arteries. A large part of arterial plaque consists of calcium deposits (atherosclerosis), hence the term “hardening of the arteries.”
Vitamin K2 activates a protein hormone called osteocalcin, produced by osteoblasts, which is needed to bind calcium into the matrix of your bone. Osteocalcin also appears to help prevent calcium from depositing into your arteries. So while increasing calcium is good for your bones, it is not so good for your arteries, which can become calcified. Vitamin K helps protect your blood vessels from calcifying when in the presence of high calcium levels.
•Vitamin D3: As mentioned, vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium, but vitamin K directs that calcium to your skeleton where it’s needed. You can think of vitamin D as the gatekeeper, controlling who gets in, and vitamin K as the traffic cop, directing the traffic to where it needs to go. Lots of traffic — but no traffic cop — means clogging, crowding and chaos everywhere!
In other words, without the help of vitamin K2, the calcium that your vitamin D so effectively lets in might be working AGAINST you — by building up in your coronary arteries rather than your bones. There is even evidence that the safety of vitamin D is dependent on vitamin K, and that vitamin D toxicity (although very rare with the D3 form) is actually caused by vitamin K2 deficiency.