Skip to content
Calcium Rich Foods

What are side effects of calcium supplements?

Have you considered taking calcium pills to prevent osteoporosis, the thinning of the bones responsible for lost height and fragility fractures? If so, you may have encountered the research showing how calcium pills can put you at increased risk for serious harms.

The pros and cons of calcium pills

The recommendation to take calcium pills originated in the assumption that even if they did little to help, aside from mild constipation they would be unlikely to harm.

This assumption, however, has now been called to question by recent evidence suggesting that people taking calcium supplementation are more likely to develop heart attacks, strokes, kidney stones, and painful bone spurs affecting their soft tissues and joints. I have personally treated a number of patients with pain in their joints who experienced relief after a trial off the calcium pills.

This article is continued below...(scroll down)
Kobe Bryant

It helped. I feel great.

"It’s helped. I feel great."

Kobe Bryant
NBA baskeball player
megyn kelly

This has been life changing

"Let me tell you this has been life-changing. I have all of her books, in audible and ebooks! I have gotten rid of all the hateful 8 oils. I have trained my body to eat its own previously toxic body fat. Download that pod it's a game changer!"

Megyn Kelly
Jesse Watters

Life changing

Deep Nutrition changed my life.

Jesse Watters
Fox News Primetime host

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic. 

Leontyne Tompkins

I feel free

For the last month, I have really been reading all labels on everything. I have completely remove those 8 oils you talk about. I must tell you, I feel great! I have more energy and I am now 197 lbs (have always been around 205 to 210lbs). I eat potatoes with real butter, grass fed steak, pasta with the right toppings. I eat everything! I seem to crave less sugar. I love it! 

Robert Kirkendall

I feel so much better

I had terrible aches and pains everywhere in my body, my hands, shoulders and knees. I feel so much better and the way I feel is motivating me every day! Thank you

Mike Deb Wootan Burcin

Better than ever

I am an anesthesiologist in Orlando and a huge fan of both of your books! I have been incorporating your principles for the last 10 months and feel that my health is better than ever.

Marnie Robinson, MD

My allergies disappeared

The biggest difference for me (and a surprising one) is that my allergies have almost completely disappeared! This is a big deal for me, because I’ve had allergies most of my life and they have often affected what I do which is a teaching music in [a public school district].  In general, I feel much better and have more consistent energy throughout the day.

Erica Turrell

Heart Palpitations have Stopped

I’ve lost 20+ pounds (also fasting 16-24 hours daily) and haven’t had palpitations except for one occasion — I had a mini bag of Fritos for the first time in July. And, I feel better now on a daily basis than I ever did all through college.

Mike Wright
Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix reader
Mitzi Wilkinson Champion

I’ve lost over 50 pounds

I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I’m 56 years old. Cutting processed food and unhealthy fats from my diet was one of the first things I did on my health recovery journey...I went cold turkey off the bad oils. Emptied my pantry into the trash and just started eating real food

Mitzi Wilkinson Champion

Knowledge I didn’t know I needed

Your Fatburn Fix book is amazing, my friend. Thank you! I’m an Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know my stuff. This is the extra layer of knowledge I didn’t know I needed. Well done!

Jennifer Dillman
Fatburn Fix reader

Lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork is great

I have lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork (after 3 months of eating your way) was even better! I was metabolically healthy (per your book) before I read your book, but barely. Lowering my weight, sealed the deal! I have been talking about you and your book to anyone who will listen...Thank you for all you’ve done and what you continue to do! You are changing lives for the better!

Missy Cramer
FatBurn Fix reader

Lost 20 lbs I could never shed

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  I work out in the am and believe I am burning fat for energy not from food!

Lauren Smith

I feel great

My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.

Richard Janelle
Completed Dr Cate's online course
Kent Matthes

The go-to for strength and conditioning coaches

Whenever I advise my clients about eating to perform I go straight to what I have learned from Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition has become the go-to for strength and conditioning coaches across the country.

Kent Matthes
Major League Baseball Agent with WME Sports
Ken D Berry

Dismantles the lie

Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.  

Ken D Berry, MD
Author of Lies My Doctor Told Me
Dr. Drew Pinsky

She knows the chemistry

Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.

Dr. Drew Pinskey, MD
Globally recognized internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist, media personality, LoveLine Host, and New York Times bestselling author
Kelly Starrett

No one is better at communicating nutritional truth

Dr. Cate has had the single greatest impact on how we talk to people about fueling for both performance or durability. While we all are a little unique, the foundational principles of human nutrition are immutable. If you are looking to create a more durable, resilient body, no one is better at communicating nutritional truth than Dr. Cate.

Dr. Kelly Starrett
Physiotherapist coach and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Brian Lenkzes

Highly recommend The Fatburn Fix

Dr. Shanahan has had a significant impact on my practice of medicine. I am known as a Low Carb Doctor, but I never really appreciated the negative effects of processed seed oils on the health of my patients. I highly recommend The Fatburn Fix to my patients and have a loaner copy in my waiting room. It is amazing how quickly blood sugars and overall health improves with cutting seed oils. It is not just about the carbs!

Dr. Brian Lenkzes, MD
CEO of LowCarbMD San Diego, co-host of Low Carb MD Podcast and host of Life's Best Medicine Podcast
Chris Kaman

Respected in the sports world

Dr. Cate reordered my diet when I was with the L.A. Lakers, and the benefits, for me personally, were felt immediately and have served me to this day. I’ve come to take real food so seriously I started a small family farm. I know of no M.D./nutritionist more respected in the sports world than Dr. Cate Shanahan.

Chris Kaman
NBA Player
Mark Sisson

Brought seed oil issue front and center

Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.

Mark Sisson
Founding Father of the Primal/Paleo Movement
Dallas Hartwig

Optimal health starts with food

If you want to understand how optimal health starts with food, start with Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition leaves you with an appreciation of the profound relationship between our genes and the planet, inspiring us to be good shepherds of both.

Dallas Hartwig
Attribution author of The Whole 30
Dwight Howard

Helped me with endurance

Deep Nutrition really helped me with endurance. I started to feel better as a player. I was able to run more, I was able to be more active …and I just decided to keep going with it to this day.

Dwight Howard
NBA Player
Paul Grewal

Silver bullet for me

Dr Cate’s teachings helped me lose 60 pounds like it was nothing. It was like a silver bullet for me.

Paul Grewal, MD 
Dr Grewal Internal Medicine, MD, author of Genius Foods
Joesph Mercola

Radically improve your health…

Dr. Shanahan has provided a solid reference that deserves a place in the library of anyone who is seriously interested in nutrition. Her perspective on the vital role that healthy fat has in our diet is novel and, if implemented, can radically improve your health.

Dr. Joseph Mercola
Author of Fat for Fuel and Founder of Mercola.com
Dave Aspery

Pull up a chair…

I have based my work on the idea that getting the right kinds of healthy fats into your body and avoiding the worst fats is essential to optimal health. I've interviewed dozens of the world's top experts about this, and I know of no one who speaks more eloquently on this topic than Dr Cate. If she’s talking fats, pull up a chair. Take notes.

Dave Asprey
Author of the Bulletproof Diet

The key to unlocking my fatburn

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  

Lauren Smith

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. 

Leontyne Tompkins

> Tears of joy

 I'm crying tears of joy and appreciation for all you've done for me and my health! Without Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix, I would literally still be in the vicious cycle I'd been fighting all my life! In a nutshell - I am no longer a compulsive overeating addict suffering under the crushing 'thumb' of all food and alcohol.     

Penni Wicks

 

Interestingly, women are at lower risk of these complications from calcium supplements than men. I believe this is probably because more women than men eat vegetables and take supplemental vitamin D.

How would vegetables and vitamin D intake help?

Your Bones Need Deep Nutrition

While calcium is the most talked about mineral for supporting bone health, few people realize that our bones need many nutrients besides calcium—magnesium, selenium, vitamins A, D, and K, and protein, for starters. The fact is, supplementing with calcium alone without addressing other dietary deficiencies offers marginal benefits. In order to actually build healthy bone, multiple members from a much longer list of nutrients have to work together in concert to stimulate the cells living in your bones, to activate  the bone-building apparatus that orchestrates the building the of a collagen matrix and then mineralizing that matrix to form new bone.

If your diet and lifestyle are inadequate to support this complex biological activity, adding calcium to an unhealthy situation is unlikely to help.

So what’s the best way to get your calcium? From food!

Visit Dr. Cate’s office in Newtown, CT for a Complete Bone-Health Plan

Instead of taking pills, I recommend taking some time to consider whether you follow a balanced diet that includes calcium rich foods. Dairy products, nuts and seeds, and dark green, bitter vegetables like chard and kale top the list. Unlike pills, not only do they offer the calcium, they offer your body many other building blocks together with the biochemical instructions your body listens to when it needs to build, or rebuild, healthy bone.

Remember: Food has a three critical functions. Food provides energy (primary with healthy fats). Food provides building-block material with which the body creates new tissue. And food is information, a kind of biochemical message from the Earth’s living environment to the cells of your body, all Interpreted by DNA and Transformed by enzymes and exercise.

That’s why, whenever you rely on pills instead of foods, you risk providing nutrients in an unnatural balance, in a form that the body is ill equipped to recognize and exploit.

The lack of biological ‘information’ not only limits your body’s ability to transport the supplemented nutrients from your digestive tract into your bloodstream (a process called absorption), it interferes with the ability to properly metabolize the nutrients. Without this essential guidance from biology, chaos takes over and the supplemented nutrients end up in random places where they don’t belong.

Exercise plays a key role as well. Without activity, your muscle and bones atrophy no matter how excellent your diet is. All physical activity, in proper proportion, helps keep bones healthy. And while weight bearing is the most talked about, aerobic and balance exercises are essential. Walking, jogging and swimming help optimize circulation for nutrient delivery while activities like dancing, yoga and tai chi improve coordination and balance for reducing the accidents and falls that break bone.

The type of supplement is irrelevant

While much ado is made about what form of supplemental calcium is the best—liquid versus solid, for example—or the ecologically destructive coral calcium versus calcium carbonate (which is basically chalk), the reality is that when you talk about supplementation, the various forms matter little because they are all, at least as far as the body is concerned, unnatural. There’s a reason we never developed cravings for chalk or coral, because these foreign replacements for the bone fide article confuses the body, leading to intestinal upset and constipation, as well as other problems.

in most cases, the powerfully beneficial alternative to supplements is REAL FOOD!

It’s good to remember that real food isn’t just a supplement to supplements. It’s the staff of life. It protects us, helps us grow, fights off age and disease and connects us to the earth. The truth is, the vast majority of your supplement dollar will wind up swirling down the toilet: what the body can’t use, it discards. Either it will pass right through your digestive system and exit the rear due to limited absorption, or the portion that does get into your blood will quickly be excreted by your kidneys.

That’s if you’re lucky.

If you are unlucky, the supplement will react with other elements in your body in unpredictable ways. Well, not entirely unpredictable. In the case of calcium, chemistry favors reactions with certain glycoproteins in collagen, and that’s why we get the buildup of plaque, kidney stones, and bone spurs, glycoproteins that arteries, kidneys, tendons, and ligaments contain in abundance.

I know, it sounds almost as if I have a bone to pick. But it’s not that, really. I want you to be the healthiest you can be. And for that to happen, I want you to give real food a try.

Calcium Rich Foods (with loads of other nutrients)

Sardines (canned, bone in) 380mg per 3 ounce serving  (also high in protein, magnesium, vitamin D)

Sesame  seeds, dry roasted 280 per 1 ounce serving (handful) (also high in magnesium, potassium, zinc)

Mackerel (canned, bone in) 240 mg per 3 ounce serving (also high in protein, magnesium, vitamin D)

Salmon (canned, bone in) 240 mg per 3 ounce serving (also high in protein, magnesium, vitamin D)

Collards, steamed 250 mg per 4 ounce serving

Whole milk yogurt 230 mg per 6 ounce serving

Cheddar cheese 220 mg per 1 ounce serving

Feta cheese 140 mg per 1 ounce serving

Broccoli, steamed 140 mg per 4 ounce serving

Cottage cheese 110 mg per 6 ounce serving

Almonds 75 mg per 1 ounce (handful) serving

Pistachio nuts, salted and roasted, 30 mg per 1 ounce (handful) serving

Thyme, dried 26 mg per tsp

Sunflower seeds, salted and dry roasted 20 mg per 1 ounce (handful) serving

REFERENCES

Women have higher D levels than men http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20595642

Calcium winds up where it does, in connective tissues, because of http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2015/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteopontin

With over two decades of clinical experience and expertise in genetic and biochemical research, Dr. Cate can help you to reverse metabolic disease and reshape your body.

This Post Has 13 Comments

  1. For a period of time I suffered random and debilitating stomach pain. Doubled-over, head-to-the-ER pain that came and went. It would hit me hard and then disappear. Doctors and specialists do lots of tests abs had no answers. One day it occurred to me it might be from my calcium supplements. When I quit them, the pain went away. A few years later I started them up again—and back came the pain.

  2. Dr. Cate…. thank you so much for taking the time to answer… I’m 74 & sure wish I had known all this earlier… but my daughter knows!! u Betcha!!

  3. In your book, you mentioned Bubbie’s sauerkraut & making your own with the leftover juice…. been trying that , but it tastes off…. perhaps I am not letting it ferment enough? I am battling Cdiff after pacemaker replacement procedure & eating minimal food to not stress the gut further so sipping the juice from Bubbies a few times a day…. teaspoon of the sauerkraut chewed 50 times, etc. Kefir , homemade chicken broth & minute portions of the chicken.
    Ideas on using Bubbies juice appreciated….

    1. Fermentation is quite an art. If it tastes off, and your health is fragile, you are better off getting Bubbies (or other naturally fermented) sauerkraut as well.

      I drink the leftover juice after workouts and splash some in my salad.

      Zukay probiotic drinks are also top quality and you may enjoy them straight out of the bottle. There are fewer carbs and no alcohol, unlike Kombucha which is sold in the same section as Zukay.

  4. My husband and I are both physicians (family medicine and orthopedics). We have had to eliminate dairy due to chronic cough and GI symptoms in our family. Basically we eat “Paleo” or “GAPS” if you must give it a name. The question I have pertains to my daughters. We tallied one daughter’s calcium intake to be 200 mg to at most 600 mg a day. She is 9. We live in South Dakota where we don’t get much vitamin D, and they aren’t very active physically in the winter. After calcium tracking, we opted for a calcium plus D supplement for the girls. They just don’t eat enough salmon/sardines, collards, or broccoli to add up. I hate to use a supplemented “fake milk.” We just don’t feel it’s fair to take chances with the kids’ bone health and this low of a calcium intake. Any thoughts?

    1. Supplements are perfect for situations like you describe. And as they grow maybe appetites will change. Don’t forget about bone broths!

  5. Dr. Cate, thank you for this article. How many mg of Calcium do you recommend getting from food each day?

  6. Hi Dr Cate,

    I don’t understand this statement:

    “If you are unlucky, the supplement will react with other elements in your body in unpredictable ways. Well, not entirely unpredictable. In the case of calcium, chemistry favors reactions with certain glycoproteins in collagen, and that’s why we get the buildup of plaque, kidney stones, and bone spurs, glycoproteins that arteries, kidneys, tendons, and ligaments contain in abundance.”

    Could you explain so I can hear it?

    Kind Regards\nCassie

Comments are closed.

Note: Please do not share personal information with a medical question in our comment section. Comments containing this content will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.

Back To Top
Search