This is the 3622nd article of Da Yi Xiao Nursing
When osteoporosis has become a high-incidence health problem among the middle-aged and elderly people in China, "calcium supplementation" seems to have become a health concept practiced by the whole people. If you don't believe me, you go and open the small medicine box of the elders, and calcium tablets are definitely the "standard" in the small medicine box. Looking around you again, it seems that everyone will chew on a few calcium tablets, which is called calcium supplementation. However, from a scientific point of view, there is no absolute "more the merrier", calcium supplementation is too much, but it is harmful to health. Today we will talk to you about another danger zone of calcium supplementation - excessive calcium supplementation.
【Danger zone】Excessive calcium supplementation
The vast majority of the calcium we consume every day should be obtained through diet. For patients with severe osteoporosis or people with restrictions on eating, calcium supplementation may be provided. However, the phenomenon of excessive calcium supplementation is very common in middle-aged and elderly people.
In general, we recommend:
The optimal calcium intake (diet + supplement) for premenopausal women is 1000 mg/day, and the intake of vitamin D for calcium absorption is 600 U/day[1];
The optimal calcium intake (diet + supplement) for postmenopausal women is 1200 mg/day, and the intake of vitamin D, which aids calcium absorption, is 800U/day2.
However, when our calcium intake reaches 2000 mg/day2, we have already exceeded the safe upper limit for daily calcium intake. First of all, we must make it clear that through dietary calcium supplementation, calcium will not be exceeded. This overdose of calcium supplementation is often caused by excessive intake of calcium supplements, that is, calcium tablets. So, what are the adverse effects of this overdose of calcium tablets?
01
kidney stone
Studies have found that consuming calcium solely through a diet high in calcium does not increase the risk of kidney stones. But if you take calcium tablets in excess, or if you supplement calcium entirely through calcium tablets, the risk of kidney stones does increase. So, on the one hand, food supplements are stronger than medicine supplements. On the other hand, calcium supplements should follow the doctor's advice, take them scientifically, and do not "do good luck".
02
dyspepsia
At present, most of the calcium tablets on the market are calcium carbonate, and the calcium content of such calcium tablets is higher, but after entering the digestive system, calcium carbonate will have a certain irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, and after a single large dose, the middle-aged and elderly people with weak gastrointestinal function may not be able to eat. Therefore, for taking calcium tablets, we recommend: on the one hand, small doses are taken in divided doses. Because the gastrointestinal tract has an adaptation process (that is, a threshold) for the absorption of calcium, a single intake of a large amount of calcium is actually less than the fractional intake of a small amount of calcium. On the other hand, taking with or after meals can not only reduce adverse reactions in the gastrointestinal tract, but also promote the absorption of calcium ions when the gastric acid secretion is strong.
Through the above explanation, do you understand?
As the saying goes: too much is too late. In the field of health and wellness, the excessive intake of any food and drugs has certain risks and hidden dangers, and following a step-by-step/scientific and reasonable supplementary approach is the real way of health and wellness.
Author: Shanghai Changning District Xinjing Town Community Health Service Center
Zhou Xiangjun Deputy Chief Physician