10 Signs You Have a Calcium Deficiency (How to Boost Calcium Naturally)

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Hey everyone, welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. I'm your host, Dr. Axe, and each and every week on this podcast, we dive deep into the science and principles behind how to grow in body, mind, spirit, and take your health and your life to the next level. Today I'll be talking about calcium. And it is mind-blowing how many people are deficient in this mineral.

And it's essential for building strong bones and teeth, but it also plays a major role in how your heart, your muscles, and your nerves function. And while most people associate calcium with dairy products, there are actually many other foods that are high in calcium.

And here's another thing, you are probably going to be shocked to find out how important calcium is to a number of other functions in the body that are crucial for healing. And in this episode, I'll also explore the importance of calcium, how works in the body, the signs that you might be deficient, and the best sources of calcium. And here's the other big one.

Did you know that if you take calcium without certain other vitamins and minerals, you won't absorb it and you'll actually increase your risk of dying from heart disease? So there's a very, very specific way you need to take calcium and a very specific type of supplement if you want it to work right in your body, or else it could actually make your health worse.

Before I dive in, though, make sure to subscribe here to the podcast and to my weekly newsletter that you can find in the show notes. So calcium deficiency is really widespread, partly because many people don't get enough calcium-rich foods in their diet.

According to the World Health Organization, calcium intake in many countries is below the recommended levels, particularly in populations that rely less on dairy products. Up to 68% of postmenopausal women are estimated to have insufficient calcium levels.

And a global study published in the prestigious Lancet journal showed that more than 1 in 3 adults worldwide suffer from low bone mass, largely due to inadequate calcium intake. And calcium is critical for anti-aging and longevity. Because if you have weak bones or insufficient calcium, your chance of fractures or even tendon and ligament issues— in injuries goes up dramatically.

And calcium is like a building block for many other functions within your body. While we often think of calcium as key to bone health, it's actually critical to so much more. Now, in reality, around 99% of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and your teeth. But also it's important for muscle function. Calcium helps muscles contract. Without it, your muscles wouldn't work properly.

It's important for nerve communication. Calcium enables nerves to send signals to your cells and organs and tissues. And it's also important for blood clotting. If you don't have enough calcium, you can't have healthy blood. Calcium plays a role in helping your blood clot when you have an injury or something like a cut.

There's medical evidence showing that it's really, really important as well for preventing bone fractures. In fact, the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published a study confirming that calcium deficiency contributes to weakened bones, which increases the risk of fractures in men and women.

One of the biggest things that can kill elderly people is if they would fall and have a break of a bone, especially hip fractures are very high up on that list. So you want to make sure you have strong bones to slow the aging process and keep you younger longer. Now calcium is also important for heartbeat regulation. Your heart depends on calcium to keep a steady rhythm.

Also preventing osteoporosis, of course, we've talked about the breaking bones. That's one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis is calcium deficiency. Now, the amount of calcium we need each day is actually relatively high. Adults between the ages of 19 and 50 need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day, just as the, as the minimum dosage. Women that are 51+ need 1,200 milligrams a day.

And these levels help ensure your bones remain strong and your muscles and heart functioning properly. Now, here are the 10 biggest warning signs you may have a calcium deficiency. Number 1 is muscle cramps. Now, muscle cramps tend to be an entire electrolyte deficiency, so it's not just calcium, it's also magnesium and potassium.

But all of those electrolytes, if you're deficient in calcium, you're probably also deficient in the others as well. But muscle cramping is a big, big sign you are electrolyte and calcium deficient. Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet. Brittle nails. If you have thin and brittle nails and they break easily, that's one of the biggest signs of calcium deficiency.

Tooth decay, weak bones, of course, osteopenia or osteoporosis, fatigue, irregular heartbeats, memory loss, severe PMS symptoms, and dry skin and eczema. These are all warning signs you could have a calcium deficiency. Now, you can do a calcium blood test. This is the most common way to measure calcium levels in your body. It shows how much calcium is in your bloodstream.

Now, though it doesn't measure the calcium stored in your bones, it still can be fairly Now, another really good test to do is a bone density test known as a DEXA scan. This test measures how strong your bones are and can detect early signs of bone loss, which may result from a calcium deficiency. You can also do a 24-hour urine test.

This measures the amount of calcium your body is excreting, giving insights into how well your body is absorbing calcium. However, probably the blood test is the most accurate. Okay. Specific to an actual calcium deficiency. And there are certain groups of people that are more predisposed to a calcium deficiency— older adults. And here's the biggest reason why.

When we age, our gut microbiome typically becomes more unhealthy, and from that, we don't absorb calcium as well. Okay, so, so many things always come back to the gut health. And so that's one major issue in a lot of older adults is they don't absorb calcium well. So even if they're getting 1,000 milligrams, they might not be absorbing most of it.

Postmenopausal women, hormonal changes after menopause lead to faster bone loss requiring higher calcium intake. Now part of that can be due to estrogen dropping as well as testosterone. When those hormones drop in women, that actually impacts A lot of things, your adrenals and then your kidneys, but also your bones and how much calcium your body is storing.

And so those hormonal changes predispose women, especially women, to weaker bones. And then vegans, people who avoid dairy products may not get enough calcium from plant sources, putting them at a bigger risk. And this is according to medical data.

Certain conditions and medication— by the way, that doesn't mean that you couldn't be a vegan, or of course a vegetarian doesn't have an issue at all, because vegetarians also eat dairy and eggs, and those are 2 good— can be great sources of calcium. But vegans, if you're eating a lot of plants, you don't have to have an issue.

The problem is a lot of vegans today are eating a lot of processed foods, and they're not actually getting absorbable real calcium. I also want to mention there are certain medications that can reduce calcium levels in the body and certain medical conditions.

For instance, people with any sort of gut issue, especially inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, IBS, leaky gut, that affects calcium absorption. Now, kidney disease is another big one that can lead to calcium loss.

And then certain medications, diuretics, anything that's a diuretic things that, like diuretics used to treat high blood pressure, can cause calcium loss in the urine. Long-term use of any steroids like corticosteroids for conditions like asthma or arthritis— these lead to a reduced calcium absorption in the gut, which then leads to bone loss.

Now, there are several nutrients that are also essential for calcium absorption. The first is vitamin D. Vitamin D works like a gatekeeper Helping your body absorb calcium from the food you eat. Without vitamin D, your body cannot use calcium efficiently.

This is also why if you have low vitamin D, that's not the only problem because now you're going to be low in calcium and magnesium and other nutrients if you're low in vitamin D. So it's sort of this domino effect. So in order to absorb calcium, number one, you need vitamin D. Number two, you need magnesium.

It works together with calcium to keep bones strong and support muscle function and even for absorption. And vitamin K2. This helps direct calcium to where it needs to go the most, your bones, and it prevents it from accumulating in your arteries. Which brings me to the next study, and this is one of the most important things I can share with you about calcium.

If you take the wrong type of calcium without the other minerals and vitamins I just mentioned, it can actually cause heart disease. Now, I'm going to go through the exact calcium supplements here. And then I'm going to hit on this study that's going to really probably surprise you. Now, the first calcium supplement here is calcium citrate. It's one of the most highly absorbable forms of calcium.

Calcium citrate does not require stomach acid for absorption, making it ideal for people with low stomach acid or those taking an acid. So if you have low stomach acid, you— magnesium citrate could be okay for you. Studies show that calcium citrate is about 27% more absorbable than calcium carbonate. By the way, calcium carbonate is the type of calcium in most cases I do not want you taking.

We'll get to that in a moment. There's also calcium citrate malate. It's more well absorbed even than this one, than just calcium citrate on its own. The third type, and this is one I really like, is an algae-based calcium. It's a marine source calcium.

When you are buying certain brands like Ancient Nutrition, Garden of Life, Longevity RX, Megafood, like any of those food brands that are known to be— I'm sorry, supplement brands that are known to be food-based supplement companies, they tend to use an algae-based or an eggshell-based, or basically a food as the base of the calcium source. Okay. And the reason of that is it's highly bioavailable.

Due to its natural plant form. And my favorite tends to be derived from either red algae or kelp. And the great thing about those is those also contain other trace minerals that could aid in calcium absorption. And there are many benefits there. It's eco-friendly. If you are vegan, that of course is a benefit. But also there's other trace minerals there that are great.

And some studies suggest that trace minerals and algae-based calcium improve its absorption compared to the others that I don't like, like calcium carbonate. I'll tell you why in a minute. Now, another option is eggshell. Okay, eggshell calcium has good bioavailability, with studies showing it is well absorbed to the matrix of proteins and additional minerals present.

Now, in eggshell, there's actually a membrane attached that also has collagen, which may also be beneficial in Working with calcium to build strong bones, and as I mentioned, it's if you have an eggshell option, it's going to have collagen, it's going to have calcium, and maybe some other minerals as well to build your bones.

Studies have shown that eggshell calcium can be highly absorbable and a sustainable option of calcium, and it's one of my favorite options as well. So if I'm personally buying calcium, I'm tending to do an algae or. Or an eggshell as my options. Now, the type of calcium you don't want to be taking typically is calcium carbonate.

This requires a lot of stomach acid, and so if you're not producing stomach acid, that's one thing that's not going to allow you to absorb it and utilize it. And the side effects can be severe on your digestive system. It can cause constipation, bloating, and gas. In some cases, excessive intake can lead to hypercalcemia, which leads to kidney stones.

And though widely available and cost-effective, by the way, it probably is the most common form of calcium people are taking. Okay, if you are going and buying a calcium supplement from your local drugstore or a cheap supermarket chain, it probably has calcium carbonate, and it's probably causing you to have digestive issues and And increasing your risk of kidney issues and heart disease.

Now, while calcium carbonate is effective at actually raising your blood levels of calcium, the issue is that it can cause medical issues, and it's even been linked to heart disease.

There's a debate in the medical community regarding the safety of calcium carbonate supplements and their potential link to an increased risk of heart disease, particularly when consumed in large doses or with without adequate vitamin D or vitamin K2.

Some studies have shown that taking high doses of calcium supplements may contribute to calcification of the arteries, leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.

A notable 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that calcium supplements Again, calcium supplements, not dietary calcium, but calcium supplements were associated with an increased risk of coronary artery calcification. This study suggested that excess calcium from supplements might deposit in the arteries, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease.

So here's what happens. You consume a calcium— a cheap calcium supplement like calcium carbonate from limestone. It then circulates in your bloodstream, but it can't be absorbed because it doesn't have vitamin D and vitamin K2 and calcium. So then it goes— while it's in your arteries, it can get lodged in plaque in your arteries, in cholesterol.

And then over time, that calcium will harden, causing hardening of your arteries, making your arteries more narrow. And over time, as they get more narrow, that predisposes you to a stroke, or a heart attack or some sort of heart disease in the future. Another study proved this.

In fact, a 2011 study published in the British Medical Journal analyzed 13 randomized placebo-controlled studies among nearly 30,000 participants and found that calcium supplements increase the risk of a heart attack by 20 to 30%, particularly when not taken with a vitamin D supplement at the same time. So here's the reality.

When you are getting your vitamins and minerals, you need to be either getting them from real food or getting them from real food plus food-based supplements. For instance, a calcium supplement that's made of algae and eggshell and things you can actually consume naturally within your diet.

Now I do want to mention there are a few studies that show, like a 2012 meta-analysis, that calcium supplementation may not cause cardiovascular risk, but it's less than 50%. So more than 50%, I think it's around 64%, show that if you're consuming an isolated calcium supplement, it is likely to cause heart disease. Okay, so you want to stay away from isolated calcium.

And if you're taking calcium, you want to make sure that same supplement also has magnesium and vitamin D and K2 in it. Ideally for proper absorption. So remember, when taking calcium supplements, your number one source should be algae. Number two, eggshell. Number three, and there are some different thoughts related to this: bone meal can be an option.

This is basically bones of animals that are ground, and so there that that is an option for some. And then coral calcium. I think it's arguable. I think it could be a good option. I do. I personally feel like the best options are algae and eggshell. And then even sesame seeds.

There are certain seeds that are very high in calcium, and so there are some other plant-based options that can be extracted from which could be good options as well. But remember, your number one source of calcium by far should be the foods you're eating on a regular basis.

You know, a study out of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that individuals who consumed high calcium diets or took high calcium supplements had a reduced risk of bone fractures by 30%. So we do know that eating a calcium-rich diet Or taking a food-based calcium supplement can be greatly beneficial. Now, here are your best sources of calcium.

Number 1 is dairy products, especially raw, organic, and fermented yogurt. 1 Cup of yogurt contains around 415 milligrams of calcium. That's over 40% of your daily needs. 1 Slice of cheese, has 200 milligrams. Raw organic milk, 300 milligrams. Kefir, very similar to yogurt there.

So doing raw— and again, I say this again, ideally raw, at the very least organic and fermented dairy, as natural and as possible as what you want here— is going to be the best. After that, what's also greatly beneficial are steamed greens like steamed spinach and kale. That will offer you around 200+ milligrams Of calcium per serving. And then after that, it's gonna be certain nuts and seeds.

Chia seeds, 1 ounce provides 180 milligrams. Almonds, around 80 milligrams. Sesame seeds are great as well. So doing some nuts and seeds, those can have good sources of calcium. Uh, I'm not a big fan of tofu. That does have a good amount though. Moringa is very high in calcium. Wild-caught fish like sardines.

Certain other green vegetables like bok choy and broccoli are very high, and dried figs as well. So if you want to build up your calcium levels, I would take this, this food list I just shared with you of the top calcium-rich foods and add those into your diet on a daily basis. Now, in addition, there's an herb that's been used in Chinese medicine to boost bone density.

It's called nettles, and this herb is rich in calcium and has been used for centuries To strengthen bones. Also remember, lifestyle can support calcium absorption and building your bones. Exercise, in particular weight-bearing exercise like lifting weights, walking, running, all can build bone density. Again, especially weight training.

And then using other ancient remedies, bone broth has been consumed for centuries. That's simmering the bones and tissues of animals and drinking the broth. Actually, that And that broth that you get has calcium, magnesium, and potassium in it, which is also going to help your calcium levels and your bone density.

And as I mentioned, listen, calcium is important for bones, but it's also important for your ligaments and tendons. It's important for your teeth. It's important for your muscles, your heart, your nerves, even your energy levels.

And if you do recognize any of those top 10 deficiencies, Make sure you start loading up on calcium-rich foods and supplements that are food-based and follow the lifestyle changes we talked about, like more exercise, like weight training and walking. That's going to help boost the bone density and support your calcium absorption as well.

One other thing that may support calcium absorption is probiotics. We know across the board that supports vitamin and mineral absorption. So again, I really recommend that you make sure you're getting calcium. Here's the other great thing. If you're eating a lot of those calcium-rich foods, Typically, a lot of those same foods also have magnesium.

And so what you probably just need to do is you probably need to take a supplement with vitamin D and K2 or get more sunshine, just be outdoors more, and that's going to help those calcium levels as well. But remember, do not take isolated synthetic calcium supplements that come from stones, okay? Those can increase your risk of a heart attack or a stroke.

You want to make sure these— and this is just a principle. Across the board when you're buying vitamins and supplements. Make sure they are food-based or as much like food as possible and that they're not synthetic because there's always a side effect when you're doing those synthetic nutrients. I want to say thanks so much for tuning in here to the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

Remember, each and every week I'm diving deep into the principles and the science behind how you can heal and grow in body, mind, and spirit. And make sure to subscribe, like, and share. I've been doing a series here on vitamins and minerals. If you haven't seen them, make sure and go back and watch the one on magnesium and on vitamin D and all of your different favorite vitamins and minerals.

You can become an expert on vitamins and minerals and nutrition if you listen to the entire series I put out on vitamins, minerals, and some of these other supplements. I think it'll benefit you, your family, and others greatly. By the way, I'm so grateful for all of you that are sharing this information, that are on mission with me, that are subscribers. Thank you Thank you so much.

I can't wait to see you on the next episode.