Here’s what you should know about arrhythmias and calcium.
Timestamps
0:00 Introduction: Arrhythmias and calcium
0:12 Calcium explained
1:03 Symptoms of too much calcium and too little calcium
1:27 Arrhythmias and calcium
2:32 Estrogen and calcium
3:33 Vitamin D and calcium
4:33 Share your success story!
Let’s talk about the relationship between calcium and your cardiovascular system. Most people associate calcium with building healthy bones. But, calcium has many other purposes in the body.
One of the unique things about calcium is that the body doesn’t eliminate it too quickly. Your body will tend to accumulate calcium, but if you have too much, you’ll be stuck with it for a while. The symptoms of too much calcium and too little calcium are equally bad. You want just the right amount.
Too much calcium: Hypercalcemia
Too little calcium: Hypocalcemia
What’s common about both hypercalcemia and hypocalcemia is arrhythmias. If you have too much or too little calcium, the heart could develop palpitations, cardiac arrhythmias, and just lose its rhythm.
It’s important to evaluate what the person is taking. For example, many women take way too much calcium in their supplements, which could potentially put them at risk for heart attacks. The type of calcium in many supplements is calcium carbonate, which is the wrong type of calcium. A much better idea is to get your calcium from food.
During menopause, you become deficient in estrogen. There is a direct relationship between estrogen deficiency and calcium deficiency because you lose estrogen control over calcium. This can lead to conditions like osteoporosis or osteopenia.
Instead of taking more calcium, you may want to take DHEA. DHEA is the precursor for building estrogen. This way, you can actually absorb more calcium. But, be sure you don’t take too much DHEA because too much can raise your testosterone.
If you’re eating a healthy diet (Healthy Keto), calcium will rarely be a problem. You may want to focus more on getting plenty of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium by a factor of 20x.
Dr. Eric Berg
08/31/2023
