Posted on 06/02/2010 1:31:02 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
Excessive intake of calcium supplements may have adverse effect on health, notes a study.
Postmenopausal and pregnant women, transplant recipients, patients with bulimia (an eating disorder) and individuals on dialysis face the highest risk of developing the calcium-alkali syndrome.
The incidence of the calcium-alkali or the milk-alkali syndrome is growing in large parts, because of widespread use of over-the-counter calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Study authors Stanley Goldfarb and Ami Patel from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (UPSM) recommend changing milk-alkali syndrome's name to calcium-alkali syndrome because it is now associated with a large calcium intake, not just milk.
The syndrome arose in the early 1900s when patients ingested abundant amounts of milk and (alkaline) antacids to control their ulcers.
This practice increased individual risk of developing dangerously high levels of calcium in the blood, which could cause high blood pressure and even kidney failure.
The incidence of the milk-alkali syndrome declined when newer ulcer medications became available, but it appears to be on the rise again.
Thanks to the increased use of over-the-counter calcium and vitamin D supplements, used mainly as preventive and treatment measures for osteoporosis, many patients with the syndrome now require hospitalisation.
The obvious preventive strategy against the calcium-alkali syndrome is to limit the intake of calcium to no more than 1.2 to 1.5 grams per day, the study co-authors said.
"Calcium supplements taken in the recommended amounts are not only safe but are quite beneficial. Taken to excess is the problem," said Goldfarb, according to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine release.
"Even at the recommended dose, careful monitoring of any medication is wise and yearly determinations of blood calcium levels for those patients taking calcium supplements or vitamin D is a wise approach," he added.
These findings will appear in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).
Do you have to research supplements and dosings before taking them? Of course. This is yet another one of these scare pieces by the folks that want to set it up so that the only way you can get supplements is by prescription, and limit the amounts of what’s in a supplement (ie you can only get 400 mg vitamin c tablets, not 1000 mg).
Good point.
To help with that balance, just scrub your body with a handful of Epsom salts a few minutes before the end of your shower.
You be amazed how nice your skin feels.
It helps balance mineral processes in your body.
Prolly the cheapest, most effective medicine on earth.
scrubbing your skin helps balance mineral processes in your body????
Interesting, but then the skin is our largest organ.
Do some research you'll be amazed how effective inexpensive old fashioned pre-corpo-chem medicine is.
Btw- as we all get thrown out of health care you'll need it.
I've been getting mine from Rite-aid, the have a Lavender and a Peppermint variety.
You can also remove buildup in lead acid batteries on the lead plates with epsom salt solutions and with new sulfuric acid, recondition it.
The Sulphate part binds them and they get cast out.
In fact, when we mine for lead, that's how it's found, as Lead Sulphate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.