My doc wants me to start taking OsCal D for bone health (I’m 49). Second ingredient is corn syrup solids. Grrrr!!
OsCal D supplements
Keto6468
(Karen)
#2
Surely the are other supports they can recommend. Ask a pharmacist, they have an enormous underutilized education, then go back to your doctor.
K
jennyellen
#3
Hi Bubblegurl
the evidence is pretty strong that calcium does not prevent bone fractures and in fact is linked to increased risk for heart disease among other things.
I will paste an article that is heavily referenced showing the deleterious effects of calcium supplementation by Dr Gabe Mirkin. I dont always agree with his assumptions, but he always posts the links to the science.
FWIW, if it was me (with as an background a Intensive Care Nurse and Intensive Care Paramedic for a total of over 40 years practice) I wouldnt take them, but I am not a doctor, so that is my opinion only.
I suggest you ask the doctor to show you the evidence, as opposed to the drug company blurb, that shows any advantage. Bet he cant 
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health e-Zine
March 11, 2018
Another Reason Not to Take Calcium Pills
A few weeks ago I reported on studies showing that calcium pills do not help to prevent bone fractures (see below). This week a well-planned study shows that taking calcium pills, both with and without vitamin D, is associated with increased risk for pre-malignant serrated colon polyps (Gut, March 02, 2018). More than 400 patients, ages 45 to 75, with a history of colon polyps, were given either:
• 1200 mg calcium pills/day,
• 1000 IU vitamin D pills/day,
• Both the calcium and vitamin D pills, or
• Placebo pills.
After five years, there was no difference in polyp formation between the groups. All the pills were stopped. Six to ten years later, those given calcium pills were four times more likely than those not given calcium pills to have pre-malignant serrated polyps. As was found in other studies, those who smoked were at double the risk for colon polyps. Other studies show that serrated polyps are associated with a markedly increased risk for developing colon cancer (Gut, November 2016;67(3)). Previous studies show that colon polyps are full of Annexin A10 and calcium pills may increase concentration of that chemical.
Calcium And Vitamin D Pills Do Not Prevent Fractures
A review of 33 studies shows that calcium and vitamin D pills do not prevent fractures, regardless of dose (JAMA, Dec 26, 2017;318(24):2466). Other reviews of 59 studies and 50 studies showed that neither calcium pills nor foods rich in calcium prevent bone fractures (British Medical Journal, September 29, 2015;351:h4183 ). An editorial in the same issue of JAMA states that the evidence is so overwhelming that extra calcium does not prevent fractures that we have to ask ourselves why these products are still so widely used.
Why so Many Calcium Pills?
In 1994, Congress passed a law that allows manufacturers of calcium and vitamin D pills to advertise and sell their pills without having to supply evidence that their products have any health benefits whatsoever. In the United States today, more than $6 billion of calcium pills and $2.5 billion of vitamin D are sold each year. The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends 1200 mg of calcium each day for people over 50, even though they have little data to support the recommendation. In 2013 the United States Preventive Services Task Force reviewed 135 studies and recommended that postmenopausal women refrain from taking supplemental calcium and vitamin D.
Side Effects of Calcium Pills
Calcium from supplements can accumulate in:
• arteries, to increase heart attack risk (British Medical J, 2011;342:d2040; JAMA Intern Med, 2013;173:639-46; NEJM, October 17, 2013; Heart, 2012;98:920-925; JAMA Internal Med, February 2013; Endocrine Practice, published online August 19, 2011; The Oncologist, 2012;17[9]:1171–1179). However, researchers at Harvard found no association between calcium pills and increased risk for heart attacks (Osteoporosis International, May 2014)
• kidneys, to increase kidney stone risk (NEJM, 2006;354:669-83)
• stomach, to cause acid rebound and increase hospital admissions for acute stomach ulcer bleeding (J Bone Miner Res, 2012;27:719-22)
• colon, to cause constipation
• blood, to cause high blood calcium levels that can cause nausea, vomiting, confusion and seizures
• eyes, linked to macular degeneration (JAMA Ophthalmology, April 2015)
• prostate, to possibly increase risk for prostate cancer (Ann Epidemiol, 2009;19:96-102)
Calcium from pills can also bind to other drugs, such as antibiotics or osteoporosis medications, to prevent them from being absorbed into your bloodstream, and it can block the benefits of drugs such as calcium-channel blockers and beta blockers.
My Recommendations
More than 75 percent of North Americans spend 12 billion dollars a year on supplements that are largely unregulated by the government to check whether they work or are even safe. Calcium and vitamin D pills are particularly popular because people believe that they strengthen bones, yet the recent studies shows this is not true. More than 54 million North Americans have osteoporosis that causes more than 30 percent of the women over 50 to break their bones. I recommend that people who have weak bones or suffer fractures should:
• lift weights if they are able
• do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, dancing and playing tennis
• restrict alcohol
• avoid smoking and second-hand smoke
• get calcium from foods, not from pills. Calcium-rich foods include dairy products, tofu, nut milks, leafy green vegetables, nuts and fish such as salmon and sardines
• keep blood levels of hydroxy vitamin D over 20 ng/ml. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D.
Saphire
#4
I have read in many places that adding Vitamin K2 does help calcium get to the bones rather than clogging the arteries. No idea if this is true but I do take supplemental K2 (both K4 and K7)
Also, when starting a ketogenic diet, some think that you may need to supplement calcium as one of the minerals you lose due to possible electrolyte inbalances. I have no idea if they are correct or not
While I have no opinion as to whether you should supplement with calcium or not, if you decide to as @Keto6468 said, seek out a less high carb version of calcium. Simply match the dose to something that is available without sugar
Annababy
(Annalee Haley)
#6
I am also a nurse and a science nerd. As such I question everything. Do not take anything I say as medical advice. There is strong and compelling research that calcium supplements are detrimental for your health. There is sound research that healthy bones are supported by vitamin D3 and vitamin K mk4. A good place to start is the book: Lies My Doctor Told Me, Medical Myths My Doctor Told Me. Written by Ken Berry, MD. He cites sound research and provides sources so you may do your own research.