Vitamin and mineral supplements can be great and are often highly regarded alternative health treatments recommended by doctors.
Sometimes supplements can do more harm than good.
This, according to a research team from University of Gothenburg, is true for one of the world’s most popular and most often recommended supplements on the market.
In fact, this one supplement can double your risk of dementia!
In 2001, 700 dementia-free women aged 70–92 were recruited, 98 of whom had been taking calcium supplements.
Comprehensive physical and neuropsychiatric examinations were carried out at the beginning of the study in 2001 and then at the end in 2006.
By the end of the study, 14.3 percent of the supplement takers had developed dementia, compared to only 7.5 percent of non-takers.
Alarmingly, this seems to suggest that calcium supplements could double your risk of developing dementia.
However, when they analyzed their data further, they found that this applied only to women who had previously had a stroke and to women who had some other cerebrovascular disease.
Cerebrovascular diseases include all conditions that affect blood flow to the brain, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Instead of reaching for supplements, you can increase your calcium intake by consuming calcium-rich food and beverages.
Together with these foods, make sure you have a good supply of vitamin D, as your body needs it to absorb the calcium.