Calcium supplements. (Media Credit/Ragesoss via Wikimedia Commons)
Too much calcium in one’s diet could raise the risk of a heart attack, new research suggests.
During an 11-year European cancer and nutrition study, Swiss scientists looked at the health of 24,000 participants, MSNBC reports. The results of the study were published Wednesday in Heart, a British cardiology journal.
The study found that in some people calcium protected against heart disease, but that there was an increased number of heart attacks among those who consumed a large amount of calcium.
Dr. Ethel Siris of New York-Presbyterian Columbia told MSNBC that “People think more is better,” but in this case, “more is not better. Enough is enough.”
MSNBC reports that 22 percent of American adults take calcium supplements. The FDA recommends that adults aged 19 to 50 consume 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily, and that adults over 50 consume 1,200 mg. The FDA says that the average American doesn’t get enough calcium, but warns that more than 2,500 mg of calcium a day is “too much.”
