Calcium? Not so fast...

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Interesting article which tracks with many of the things I have been reading the last few years about Calcium and bone health. Worth tracking, http://www.newsweek.com/calcium-doesnt-boost-bone-health-378111?rel=most_shared5

[TammyDTM 391]

That certainly gives you something to think about. That last paragraph was a little worrisome.

[James Marusek 5,244]

Here is another take on that study. http://acsh.org/2015/09/supplemental-calcium-is-beneficial-to-overall-bone-health/

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Interesting. I know I've read some studies that suggest dairy is not eh best source of Calcium, but the supplement issue appears to only now being studied. Either way I guess this is a good reason to stay up on bloodwork so if you do have a deficient yo can take steps to correct it.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I'd take anything the American Council on Science and Health says with a pillar of salt . . . they are known for advocating against anything that would hurt their financial sponsors (chemical companies, Big Pharma, petrochemical companies, huge food processing companies and their ilk).

This is just a start on the information you can find on this group if you look around:

"Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group"

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/american-council-science-health-leaked-documents-fundraising

As far as I can tell, the only method of preserving and building bones and preventing fractures that seems to be widely accepted by medical science is exercise -- specifically, high impact exercise and lifting weights.

@@BLERDgirl standard blood work does not tell us much of anything meaningful about Calcium -- if your blood and immediate systems are running low on calcium, your body will leach some from your bones (hence osteoporosis), and your labs will pretty much always show normal calcium levels. The only way to really study your bone mass is through bone density scanning.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I had one pre-op and was fine. I'll ask my primary if that's something I should check annually.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@Bufflehead "I'd take anything the American Council on Science and Health says with a pillar of salt" Thank you. You are right, I forgot about that connection. But I appreciate the reminder. I think I was not as critical with this article as most because I have been seeing other calcium/bone health/dairy studies for about the last decade and this was one of the more clear ones.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

@@OKCPirate the link you posted I trust! It was the one replying to your post that included a link from the ACSH. Not surprisingly, the ACSH, which takes lots of money from drug/supplement manufacturers, has a spin on the study that says that Calcium is effective in protecting against bone loss and bone fractures. I am quite suspicious of their take on things. I have also been reading a lot of studies on what calcium supplements do for you. To me, it looks like the strongest evidence is that calcium supplements lead to heart attacks and strokes. Frankly, I'd rather have a broken bone, even if I thought calcium was a great way to prevent that. Which I don't. I am planning to back way off calcium supplementation.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@James Marusek - Hey please take note of @@Bufflehead's comments. I think they are worthy of contemplation. Thanks

[James Marusek 5,244]

@@James Marusek - Hey please take note of @@Bufflehead's comments. I think they are worthy of contemplation. Thanks

Back in March I posted on this subject.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/335398-calcium-supplements/

[James Marusek 5,244]

With RNY gastric bypass surgery, my body no longer synthesizes Calcium from food. I know because I cut back from 6 Citricals per day down to 4 and they caught me. My blood work showed I was deficient and my nutritionist recommended I increase it back to 5 per day. I suspect this may not be the same for sleeve patients. You may have significantly more latitude.

[swimbikerun 1,048]

Did you check to see that everything else was the same? What about your Vitamin D levels?

[James Marusek 5,244]

Did you check to see that everything else was the same? What about your Vitamin D levels?

My vitamin D levels were within the acceptable range both before and after I reduced my level of Citrical according to my blood tests.

When I was taking 6 Citrical's per day, my Calcium levels were 10.2 which was barely within the acceptable range of 8.6-10.3 mg/dL.

Then when I dropped down to 4 Citrical's per day, my PTH Intact (another measure of calcium) changed to 72.7 which was out of the acceptable range of 7.5-53.5 pg/mL. The PTH level was high which indicates low levels of bone calcium.

[swimbikerun 1,048]

So they had you taking all that Calcium knowing your levels were that high? Did they test urine calcium levels? 24 hour levels? How about iCalcium levels? What were your blood calcium levels when you went to 4?

https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/pth/tab/test/

These are the people who write (or get it from the people who create the tests) lab guidelines.

Your calcium was in normal range, so I'm missing pieces here as to why you were tested. That indicates a possible parathyroid problem, more so than calcium?

Did they also check your phosphorus levels?