A comprehensive review of reverse calcium supplementation behaviors! Check out which ones you have fallen into.

Author: Liu Fan, Institute of Basic Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College

Li Chunyan, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University

Do you eat calcium tablets and drink milk crazily to grow taller? Do you buy a basket of health products for a set of neat and white teeth? Do you cook pot after pot of bone soup for your family to prevent osteoporosis? However, you may not know that sometimes you work hard and spend a lot of effort to "reverse calcium supplementation"! Reverse calcium supplementation is the opposite of positive calcium supplementation, which refers to those behaviors that cause calcium deficiency and ineffective calcium supplementation. Today, we will review several common reverse calcium supplementation behaviors. Let's see how many of them you have been involved in!

Behaviors that steal calcium from the body and harm health:

High-salt diet: Scientific research shows that excessive salt intake can cause calcium-phosphorus metabolism disorders and metabolic acidosis. At the same time, it increases the excretion of calcium ions in the urine by activating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and increasing the expression of epithelial sodium ion channels, leading to calcium loss in the body and ultimately affecting bone quality.

Excessive consumption of caffeinated and carbonated beverages: Excessive intake of caffeine and carbonated beverages will cause excessive phosphorus intake in the body, exceeding the body's metabolic capacity, thereby hindering calcium absorption and affecting calcium-phosphorus balance.

Drinking and smoking: Ingredients such as nicotine and alcohol inhibit the activity of osteoblasts, affecting the balance of bone formation and bone resorption, resulting in reduced bone density, increased risk of fractures, and delayed bone healing.

High-protein diet: Although a high-protein diet can promote calcium absorption, it will also increase calcium excretion. Especially when the daily calcium intake is less than 800 mg, the increase in urinary calcium excretion caused by a high-protein diet will offset its positive effect on bone health to a certain extent. Therefore, it is very important to reasonably control protein intake.

Behaviors that seem to be useless for calcium supplementation:

Over-reliance on calcium supplements: Some people may mistakenly believe that taking calcium supplements alone can maintain bone health, ignoring the importance of a balanced diet and other nutrients. Long-term excessive intake of calcium supplements may lead to undesirable accumulation of calcium in the body, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney stones.

Improper food selection: Some people may over-focus on certain calcium-rich foods and ignore other equally important nutrients. For example, over-reliance on dairy products and neglecting other foods such as vegetables, beans and fish will lead to unbalanced nutrient intake, which will affect bone health. In addition, the idea of ​​"what you eat is what you get" has also led us into the misunderstanding of calcium supplementation - the solubility of calcium in bone soup is very limited, and the calcium supplementation effect is far inferior to milk, soy milk and other foods. Long-term consumption will increase the risk of gout and hyperlipidemia.

Ignoring vitamin D supplementation: Vitamin D is the key to promoting calcium absorption and utilization. Adequate vitamin D can increase intestinal calcium absorption, promote bone mineralization, maintain muscle strength, improve balance and reduce the risk of falling. However, many people only know to supplement calcium blindly in their daily lives, thus ignoring the inspection and supplementation of vitamin D. In the absence of vitamin D, even if you take enough calcium, the absorption and utilization of calcium will be affected, thereby reducing the benefits to bone health and failing to play the real role of calcium supplementation.

Avoid exercise: Many people have a wrong understanding of osteoporosis, and will tell the elderly in their family to reduce exercise as much as possible to prevent fractures caused by reduced bone density. But in fact, lack of exercise will cause the body to lack mechanical stimulation and gravity unloading for a long time, and the adaptive remodeling mechanism of mechanical corresponding cells and damaged tissues will change, leading to degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and sarcopenia. At this time, it is difficult to prevent osteoporosis by taking enough calcium but not exercising properly.

Over-reliance on drugs: Some people may over-rely on drugs to treat or prevent osteoporosis, while ignoring the impact of lifestyle and eating habits on bone metabolism; and due to the lack of medical knowledge, the use of drugs may be incorrect in dosage, dosage form, or the effects of drugs are incompatible, which cannot achieve the best supplementary effect. Drug treatment should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor and should usually be combined with a healthy lifestyle, and should not be regarded as the only solution or a "calcium straw".

In summary, although calcium supplementation is essential for bone health, over-reliance on calcium supplements, incorrect diet, lack of attention to vitamin D intake, lack of exercise, drug dependence and other behaviors may not only fail to achieve the effect of calcium supplementation, but also waste time and energy and even endanger one's own health. Therefore, when supplementing calcium, we should take comprehensive measures and try to take the right path of calcium supplementation under the help and guidance of doctors or nutrition experts.

While avoiding reverse calcium supplementation, we should also be wary of excessive calcium supplementation, which can lead to adverse consequences. Compared with people who consume 600 to 1000 mg of calcium per day, the risk of all-cause mortality increases by 40% when the calcium intake is 1400 mg. Not only that, all data show that excessive calcium supplementation can lead to a series of comprehensive health problems, the main hazards of which include:

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease: Long-term excessive calcium intake may lead to a substantial increase in blood calcium concentration, calcium deposition in the blood vessel walls, and increased risk of arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Kidney stone formation: Excessive calcium intake will increase the urinary calcium content. Studies have shown that daily calcium intake of 2,100 mg can increase the risk of kidney stones. For example, if calcium intake is excessive and the intake of foods rich in oxalic acid (such as spinach) is increased, calcium oxalate stones are likely to form.

Digestive system problems: Excessive calcium intake can lead to excessive rebound secretion of gastric juice and gastric acid, and can also cause gastrointestinal discomfort such as indigestion, bloating, and diarrhea; at the same time, calcium combines with other substances in the gastrointestinal tract to form insoluble salts, which makes the stool dry and difficult to excrete, causing constipation.

Increased burden on kidneys: Kidneys are the excretion organs of calcium ions. Long-term excessive calcium intake will increase the excretion burden on the kidneys, and the risk of kidney disease will increase accordingly. Therefore, for patients with kidney diseases such as chronic nephrotic syndrome, they should pay more attention to kidney health monitoring while supplementing calcium.

Other health issues: Although calcium is an important nutrient for maintaining bone health, excessive calcium supplementation may interfere with the balance between calcium and other trace elements and affect the absorption of other minerals. Insufficient intake of iron and zinc can also cause iron deficiency anemia, growth retardation and other problems.

Although calcium is essential for maintaining bone health, too much calcium can also cause a variety of health problems. Therefore, we should carefully choose the dosage when supplementing calcium and grasp the degree. It is best to supplement calcium safely and appropriately under professional guidance. I hope this article can help readers better supplement calcium-related knowledge and protect their bone health.