Q. I was just visiting my mother, who took Fosamax for eight years. About three years ago, she decided to stop it and simply take calcium supplements. She is taking large quantities of calcium (5,000 to 7,000 mg per day) to “help her bones.”
She has lost a number of teeth, perhaps as a side effect of the Fosamax. With all the calcium she takes, though, why aren’t her teeth in better shape? Can too much calcium be detrimental?
Selfishly, perhaps, at age 54 I want to avoid these problems as I grow old. How can I keep my bones in good shape and grow old gracefully?
A. Your mother is taking far too much calcium. The upper limit considered safe for adults is 2,500 mg daily, about half to a third of her dose.
Many people figure that if a little calcium is necessary for strong bones (as it is), then a lot would work even better. But it does not. A careful review of the research shows that calcium supplements have been linked to kidney stones, constipation, coronary artery calcification, heart attacks and strokes (Heart, June, 2012).
We are sure neither you nor your mother would want to trigger a heart attack in the quest for strong bones, so we are sending you our Guide to Osteoporosis. In it you will find a discussion of preferred food sources of calcium along with advice on vitamin D and other nondrug approaches to osteoporosis prevention. We also discuss drugs used to treat bone loss.
There are some good food sources of calcium, in addition to dairy products. Getting calcium from the diet does not seem to be associated with the same risks as high-dose supplements.
• Almonds
• Beans
• Broccoli
• Bok Choy
• Corn Tortillas
• Fortified Orange Juice
• Kale
• Mustard Greens
• Salmon (canned, bone-in)
• Sardines
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Tofu
• Turnip Greens
