Osteoporosis / Calcium

I've recently gone from osteopenia into osteoporosis at age 74. The degree of osteoporosis isn't bad, but metrics are metrics. I've taken low to no calcium supplementation for maybe 6-7 years, but have had dietary calcium. I've taken magnesium during this time span since I hear it's helpful for afib. I eat healthily and exercise. Am not bothered by general body symptoms of inflammation. A month ago my back started bothering me all the time, a totally new symptom. Stiff, achy. Not sure if it's the bones or muscles but I suspect the bones are 'talking'. So I started taking capsules of 100 mg Calcium malate/ 100 mg Magnesium malate though the day, usually 2 caps at breakfast and 2 at dinner, equalling 400 mg for each mineral. When I do this my back symptoms disappear. I've had a hip replacment and knee replacement in the past 2 years which I suspect may have been due to several years w/ no calicum supplmentation. I've read widely on magnesium and are aware of experts who say supplemental calcium is horrible for us. My passion has always been holistic nutrition, so I'm not uniformed. At this point I choose to increase calicum intake but it is matched by magnesium content with extra magnesium ortotate at bedtime. (I also take boron, Bio Sil (silica), and collagen for bone health).

Since this forum suggests calcium isn't good for afib, I thought I'd post this for any responses. / I'm pretty certain the cal/mag regime is helping me and seems not to be negatively affecting my afib currently. (I also take K2 MK4 and MK7 twice/day along with D3 and Vit A which helps the K2 systematically. My hope is that it helps the calcium work more 'positively' in the body. I'd be interested to hear from others who have this 'calcium' dilemma.

I have been on this forum since 2004. I also read here that calcium is bad for afib. I always look at labels and bought dairy free milk without enriched calcium.

I too progressed to osteoporosis. My height was measured yesterday and I lost two inches. I’m losing bone.

I am curious what other readers post.

Calcium was a problem for me with rhythm disturbances so I switched to strontium which is recommended by some bone experts as an alternative to calcium. Hope you find the right balance with this and glad that you are out of pain!

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Daisy
I switched to strontium

This made me do a double take followed by a google search. The only strontium I was familiar with is strontium-90, which is radioactive and a hazardous material. Definitely not something you'd want to be ingesting. I didn't know there were other isotopes used medicinally.

Here is a review article on strontium and osteoporosis: [pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov].

The issue with calcium is it interferes in the absorption of magnesium where both are absorbed in the small intestine . Avoiding ingestion of Mg and calcium simultaneously makes sense. It may seem reasonable to separate the two by taking Mg in the morning and calcium at night . I would suggest you discuss this approach with your healthcare professional.

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Hugging
The issue with calcium is it interferes in the absorption of magnesium where both are absorbed in the small intestine . Avoiding ingestion of Mg and calcium simultaneously makes sense. It may seem reasonable to separate the two by taking Mg in the morning and calcium at night

I personally discovered calcium was an issue for my afib in 2012. I was consuming 10x the RDA of magnesium (around 4 g elemental Mg++) in the morning and wheels of brie cheese in the evening (new for me in 2012). My afib event count increased materially. My hypothesis is that for me, the calcium issue was beyond calcium impairing magnesium absorption. When I surmised that calcium was an issue and stopped consuming the brie (my only dairy), my afib control went back to its previous stellar level. I describe 2012 for me a little more here.

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Carey

I switched to strontium

This made me do a double take followed by a google search. The only strontium I was familiar with is strontium-90, which is radioactive and a hazardous material. Definitely not something you'd want to be ingesting. I didn't know there were other isotopes used medicinally.

No, I am not taking strontium 90! To quote from the article that GeorgeN posted:

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Many animal studies have shown that strontium can replace calcium in some physiological processes, such as muscle contraction, blood clotting, and secretion of certain hormones. However, these processes are less intense than induction with calcium ions. Strontium can also be incorporated into bone cells, which increases their density and reduces the risk of developing osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Thanks for these contributions, everyone.

Two years ago my Spine T-score was -1.7. Had another scan late last year and it increased to -3.1!
My blood mineral values are optimal as is my testosterone. Reasonably physical active but since the last scan i began the ONERO program.
Apparently weight is needed to stimulate osteoblasts. Also increased my protein intake and began supplementing 1g of egg shell/day. Haven't taken any calcium supplements in decades but i do take Mg (and other stuff) since 2015/16 when AF hit me. I'm 75 in March

[www.griffith.edu.au]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2025 01:21AM by Joe.