Calcium and Vitamin D by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!
Great question about Calcium and Vitamin D.
Calcium has an uncanny ability to keep levels normal in the blood despite problems with calcium and Vitamin D. So much so, in fact, that calcium levels will only be low with EXTREMELY low Vitamin D levels and will only be high in rare conditions such as parathyroid gland disorder. So, most people that have even severe osteoporosis even have normal calcium levels. So calcium blood level is NOT a good indication of what the calcium in your blood is DOING, it really only says that you don't have a calcium metabolism disease.
So, Vitamin D is absolutely required in order to ABSORB the calcium that is in your blood, and your Vitamin D is EXTREMELY low, so it's quite likely that you have had at least SOME bone loss because of your severe Vitamin D deficiency and I think that your doctor is just giving you some extra calcium in the hopes that you might be able to rebuild any small amount of bone loss that you might have incurred from the years of having low Vitamin D Levels. BUT, you have the issue of kidney stones in the family and that complicates issues. But while there are SOME that say extra calcium contributes to kidney stones there are just as many studies that say low doses of calcium are safe. And the issue with kidney stones is not the amount of calcium that you take, but how much of that calcium is actually dissolved in your bloodstream.
The problem with people who make kidney stones is that the calcium doesn't DISSOLVE, it stays in crystalline form. So, what helps calcium to dissolve into the bloodstream? Several things. First and most importantly magnesium does.
Citric acids also do.
Studies have shown that the best FORM of calcium to help prevent kidney stones is Calcium Citrate. And if you take the calcium citrate with a magnesium citrate supplement and take them with A Squeeze of Lemon Juice in the Water can all help to reduce your chance of getting kidney stones.
But if you are still worried, you can ask your doctor for a urine test before and after you start taking the calcium to see if the amount of oxalate crystals increase or decrease with your therapy.
Calcium and Vitamin D 3 deficiency by: msara
I'm only 24 years old is it possible to loss some of my bones,oh god... He gave me calcium carbonate is this the right kind of calcium??
While I'm reading some articles about calcium carbonate they said "it's the bad kind of calcium" and no one should take it!!
And what's the right does of magnesium??
Always losing bone... by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!
Hi Msara,
OK. So, here's the way bones work. We are ALWAYS losing bone and always building it back up again. Whether we have a NET gain or a net loss is what is important. You are 24 years old and your vitamin D level is EXTREMELY low. Vitamin D controls the amount of calcium absorbed back into your bones. While Vitamin D is not the ONLY determinant of whether your bones gain or lose, it is one of the big ones.
But what I have found is that generally people who are as severely low in Vitamin D as you are tend to not have a lifestyle that PROMOTES strong bones. In other words, getting outside and getting lots of sun, getting lots of weight-bearing exercise, eating lots of whole foods that are completely unprocessed and fresh from nature, etc. So, building bone has a lot of complex components. And maybe I'm wrong about your lifestyle, but if your lifestyle doesn't include these things, maybe this is a blessing in disguise learning this so early that you can turn things around NOW....
Anyway- yes, calcium carbonate is not the right choice for ANYONE, as it is poorly absorbed, but for someone with a family history of kidney stones, Calcium Citrate is really the only good choice for you. And magnesium citrate is also the best choice to keep the calcium in solution in your blood as much as possible. You can take a look at the Magnesium Dosage page to see how much you can take. But if you want a SUPER easy solution to all of that and more, I highly recommend that you get Jigsaw Health's Essential Daily Packs.
It's already got:
500 mg of calcium citrate 500 mg of magnesium 5000 IU's of Vitamin D3 Trace minerals Strontium and Silica which also help build bones.
It is really the most complete multivitamin that I have seen and continues to impress me in SO many ways every time I take a look at the ingredients.
I hope that this helps!
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
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