Many older adults feel helpless and fearful when it comes to the topic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Many assume there’s nothing they can do to prevent it. But according to recent emerging science, you have much more control over the fate of your brain than mainstream medicine has led you to believe.
In fact, a new study shows that avoiding one commonly recommended dietary supplement may protect you from ever experiencing cognitive decline in the first place!
I’ll tell you all about that important study in just a moment. But first, let’s back up to put some key points into context…
It’s a complicated world
As I report week after week, compelling science supports the use of key dietary supplements — such as vitamin D — to prevent disease.
But the mainstream medical minions and crony corporatist medical industry continuously ignore or try to dismiss the science. More often than not, you can count on them to:
- Dole out faulty, outdated dietary advice
- Promote misleading “meta-analyses” that use inadequate dosages of supplements
- Inflate the supposed dangers of “overdosing” on vitamins and minerals, against all the actual evidence (or lack thereof)
- Establish ridiculously low RDAs that won’t help prevent disease, much less achieve optimal health
Plus, they inexplicably promote a supplement I’ve consistently advised you never to take…
The dangers of this “health” supplement
As I often report, taking calcium as a supplement can — and does — cause bodily harm.
You may be surprised that I advise against taking calcium supplements. Indeed, many doctors recommend them for bone health — especially to their female patients.
But this advice reflects clear ignorance about how bones function in the body. In the end, unhealthy bones simply aren’t a matter of only “calcium deficiency.”
Bone is living tissue and requires amino acids from adequate protein intake, especially as you get older. Bone also needs other minerals such as boron, magnesium, and silica, as well as vitamins C, D, and K. Plus regular, moderate physical activity sends signals to the bone tissues and cells to keep them active and healthy.
But above all else, here’s the main reason why you should never take a calcium supplement:
As I told you earlier this year, research links calcium supplementation with cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer in the U.S.
How does it happen?
When you take a typical calcium supplement, you’re simply swallowing limestone, bones, and shells of oysters and eggs.
That’s like trying to get your nutrients from eating rocks!
Plus, as the latest research shows, it sets you up for calcium deposits in your body’s soft tissues, and excess calcium in the blood, which contributes to calcification of the arteries, also known as arteriosclerosis. This “hardening of the arteries” is the underlying cause of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease of the legs. More on that in just a moment.
Calcium supplements harm your brain
Of course, soft-tissue calcification can also harm the brain and its structures, such as the all-important pineal gland, which produces melatonin and helps regulate your sleep patterns.
And previous research suggests calcium supplementation may even contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In fact, a 2009 study published in the journal Medical Hypothesis linked brain calcification to Alzheimer’s disease.
Now — thanks to the new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition — we have more direct evidence that calcium supplements cause brain damage.
For this study, researchers followed 227 participants who were 60 years and older. Their dietary food and supplement intakes were assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire, which was developed by Gladys Block, my colleague at the National Cancer Institute in 1998.
Then, the researchers performed MRI brain imaging studies on the participants. Turns out, they found more damaging brain lesions among those taking calcium supplements than among those not taking them. Even at low doses, calcium supplements were associated with more dangerous brain lesions in older adults.
Furthermore, the effect of calcium supplements on brain damage was similar to that caused by high blood pressure, the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke.
In their report, the researchers discussed the established connection between calcium supplementation and increased stroke risk. They suggested calcium supplementation may increase the risk of stroke since it increases the amount of calcification and hardening of the arteries that supply the brain.
They also considered the possibility that excess calcium in the blood from supplements may cause an influx of calcium directly into the brain itself, killing brain cells.
All in all, the takeaway is this: This study — and mounds of previous evidence — clearly illustrate the very real and very serious dangers of taking calcium supplements.
So instead, support your bone health and get your calcium from food sources, which doesn’t pose a risk to your brain or heart health. Be sure to incorporate plenty of full-fat dairy, meat, and seafood into your diet. This is what I’ve always recommended!
In the end, avoiding calcium supplements is just one simple step you can take to protect your brain and reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
If you’d like to learn about more all-natural approaches to prevent — and reverse — Alzheimer’s and other devastating forms of dementia, I encourage you to check out my comprehensive learning protocol, the Complete Alzheimer’s Fighting Protocol. For more information, or to enroll today, simply click here.
Source:
“Elevated brain lesion volumes in older adults who use calcium supplements: a cross-sectional clinical observational study,” Br J Nutr. 2014 Jul; 112(2): 220–227