First let me get the facts straight. A lot has been written on calcium
over the past two decades. Most of the anecdotal stuff has been written by
uneducated people who do not even have grade 2 education. Social media sites
like Facebook are full of wannabe doctors giving out BS advice on everything
from surgery to nutrition. For example, a person, usually a female, takes calcium
pills and notices that the blood pressure is low one day and then she starts blogging
about the wonders of calcium. This person then starts to recommend calcium to
every Tom, Dick and Harry. This is nonsensical medical advice and dangerous. Blood pressure control
and modulation is dependent on hundreds of factors and there is no one mineral
or supplement that controls it. In the majority of people with high blood
pressure, there is no known cause. Almost everything underneath the sun has
been tried out as a cure and failed. So simply telling someone to take calcium
or vitamin D is bullshit advice.
The
latest study shows that in YOUNG PEOPLE who do not have high blood pressure an
increase in calcium may drop the blood pressure slightly. This indicates that
perhaps regular calcium ingestion may be preventive against hypertension. However,
these results should be viewed with caution as the mechanisms for this BP
lowering are not known and the studies need to be reproduced. How much calcium
to take, or for how long is not known. The current evidence suggests that in people
over the age of 35 with normal blood pressure, a dose of calcium between 1000
to 1500 mg/day may be beneficial.
Having said all that, I should add that these
studies on calcium were sponsored by the industry- and that usually means you
have to think about the fudge factor. Doctors
who are paid a lot of money to conduct trials usually always report positive
results. My advice is always the same. To prevent high blood pressure, eat
less, walk more and cut down on salt. If you want to add calcium there is no
harm in it but do not expect miracles, because the blood pressure lowering is
miniscule.
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, I highly
recommend you remain complaint with your medications- there is no substitute.
High blood pressure is a silent disorder but it has devastating complications if
it remains untreated.