- Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified, and they should be avoided.
- Supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful.
In this article, we will focus on two popular supplements:
- Calcium (Ca)
- Vitamin D (VIT D)
To Supplement or Not?
My friend and I were discussing "taking supplement or not"[2] and here are his questions:
My blood test showed significant VIT D deficiency and my doctor prescribed me 4000 IU of VIT D daily. I've been taking it for 2 yrs. However, I'm not taking any Calcium (Ca) supplement, after some controversy about it was reported. What's your thought about taking Ca? And why with Mg? Is it for cardiovascular protection? I'm also taking daily dose of 85 mg aspirin, which is recommended by my doctor.
Vitamin D and Calcium
VIT D and Ca are essential for bone health and more.[3,4,14] As advised by Dr. Ethel Siris (watch this video here):
Everybody needs enough VIT D and Ca for good bone health. If you have enough Ca and VIT D from your diets, you don't need to supplement them. But, if you don't have enough, you need to supplement them.However, even with supplementation, you can only correct your bone loss related to the components of not having enough Ca and VIT D. See this article for how to build strong bones.
Dr. Ethel Siris has also advised that:
You should have bone density test done when you're 65 years old. If you have higher risk of osteoporosis,[5] you should consider taking the test at an earlier age—60.
Calcium Overdose
As reported in [6], you can have calcium poisoning by overdosing. The symptoms of calcium poisoning include:
If you take Ca and VIT D for bone health. You also need to consider factors that can impact your bone health negatively. For example, fluoride overdose causes skeletal flurosis, which in turn causes fragile bones. Based on this video,[12] skeltal fluorosisis is more prevalent than you thought. In the video, Jeff Green has said that if you are intoxicated with fluoride overdose, a combination of nutrients like Magnesium ( Mg), Calcium ( Ca) and Vitamin C can bind free fluoride ions and help to excrete fluoride from your body more effectively.
- Abdominal pain
- Bone pain
- Coma
- Confusion
- Constipation
- Depression
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- Irregular heartbeat
- Muscle twitching
- Nausea
- Vomiting
As shown above, supplementing Ca can cause constipation.[10] That's why you need to take Magnesium (Mg; a laxative) together with Ca. One of the acute poisoning symptoms is irregular heartbeat. From a 11-year research in German, it has also found that:[7]
There are two main types of VIT D supplements:[3]
Research has shown that VIT D2 is less effective in raising human VIT D levels than vitamin D3. VIT D3 is naturally produced in humans and animals when sunlight hits the skin, fur or feathers. It is the raw material from which all potent forms of VIT D are produced in the body. It is also known that VIT D3 is generally considered safer than VIT D2, which has more reported cases of overdose or toxicity.
When amounts of VIT D in the blood become too high. Signs of toxicity include:[11]
- Increasing calcium supplements might raise myocardial infarction (MI) risk and should be taken with caution.
Vitamin D Overdose
There are two main types of VIT D supplements:[3]
- VIT D2 (also known as ergocalciferol)
- VIT D3 (also known as cholecalciferol)
Research has shown that VIT D2 is less effective in raising human VIT D levels than vitamin D3. VIT D3 is naturally produced in humans and animals when sunlight hits the skin, fur or feathers. It is the raw material from which all potent forms of VIT D are produced in the body. It is also known that VIT D3 is generally considered safer than VIT D2, which has more reported cases of overdose or toxicity.
When amounts of VIT D in the blood become too high. Signs of toxicity include:[11]
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Poor appetite
- Constipation
- Weakness
- Weight loss
And by raising blood levels of Ca, too much VIT D can cause confusion, disorientation, and problems with heart rhythm. Excess VIT D can also damage the kidneys.
The safe upper limit for VIT D is 1,000 to 1,500 IU/day for infants, 2,500 to 3,000 IU/day for children 1-8 years, and 4,000 IU/day for children 9 years and older, adults, and pregnant and lactating teens and women.[11] VIT D toxicity almost always occurs from overuse of supplements. Excessive sun exposure doesn't cause VIT D poisoning because the body limits the amount of this vitamin it produces.
Finally, like most dietary supplements, VIT D may interact or interfere with other medicines or supplements you might be taking. You can read [11] for more details.
The safe upper limit for VIT D is 1,000 to 1,500 IU/day for infants, 2,500 to 3,000 IU/day for children 1-8 years, and 4,000 IU/day for children 9 years and older, adults, and pregnant and lactating teens and women.[11] VIT D toxicity almost always occurs from overuse of supplements. Excessive sun exposure doesn't cause VIT D poisoning because the body limits the amount of this vitamin it produces.
Finally, like most dietary supplements, VIT D may interact or interfere with other medicines or supplements you might be taking. You can read [11] for more details.
More on Bone Health
If you take Ca and VIT D for bone health. You also need to consider factors that can impact your bone health negatively. For example, fluoride overdose causes skeletal flurosis, which in turn causes fragile bones. Based on this video,[12] skeltal fluorosisis is more prevalent than you thought. In the video, Jeff Green has said that if you are intoxicated with fluoride overdose, a combination of nutrients like Magnesium ( Mg), Calcium ( Ca) and Vitamin C can bind free fluoride ions and help to excrete fluoride from your body more effectively.
References
- Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements (Annals of Internal Medicine)
- Taking Supplements or Not? (Travel and Health)
- Vitamin D and its Benefits (Travel and Health)
- Building Strong Bones (Travel and Health)
- Risk Factors of Osteoporosis (Travel and Health)
- Calcium carbonate overdose (Medline Plus)
- Associations of dietary calcium intake and calcium supplementation with myocardial infarction and stroke risk and overall cardiovascular mortality in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC-Heidelberg).
- Risk Factors of Kidney Stones (Travel and Health)
- Types of Kidney Stones (Travel and Health)
- Constipation and Its Remedies (Travel and Health)
- Vitamin D (NIH)
- Dr. Mercola Interviews Jeff Green About Fluoride Toxins
- Jeff Green
- 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and resolvin D1 retune the balance between amyloid-ß phagocytosis and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease patients.
- The researchers conclude that in vitro, 1,25D3 and RvD1 rebalance inflammation to promote amyloid-ß (Aß) phagocytosis, and suggest that low vitamin D3 and docosahexaenoic acid intake and/or poor anabolic production of 1,25D3/RvD1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells could contribute to AD onset/pathology.
- Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis
- MS is more common all over the world in areas north of the equator and in people born in early spring. This suggests that there may be a link between the amount of sunshine you get and the likelihood of developing MS.
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