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Many people take calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis.

However, taking calcium from supplements rather than food may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.



Medical reporter Yoo Seung-hyun explains how to take calcium.



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Kim Jin-sun, in her 50s, started taking calcium supplements after being diagnosed with osteopenia a year ago.



[Kim Jin-seon (57 years old) / Osteopenia, taking calcium supplements: Since menopause is coming, I heard a lot of people around me saying that it would be nice to take calcium supplements in advance...

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It was later learned that it could be harmful to people taking high blood pressure medications.



[Kim Beom-taek/Professor of Family Medicine at Ajou University Hospital: When blood vessels constrict, blood pressure rises.

But when blood vessels constrict, calcium is needed.

(Calcium supplements) tend to reduce the good function of blood pressure medications.]



A domestic research team followed 8,000 people over the age of 45 who took calcium supplements and 82,000 people who did not take calcium supplements for 8 to 10 years. The risk of acute myocardial infarction was 14% higher, the risk of ischemic stroke was 12%, and the risk of death was 40% greater in the group who took it than in the group who did not take it.



This is because when the blood level suddenly rises after taking calcium supplements, the blood vessels harden and the blood hardens better, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.



If you eat the same amount of calcium as food and supplements and compare blood concentrations, you can see that they rise and fall rapidly after taking the supplements.



[Kim Beom-taek/Professor of Family Medicine, Ajou University Hospital: (If you take it as food), there is no big problem because calcium is now slowly rising as various fibers and other carbohydrates in food are absorbed together.



] You need to consume between 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium, and Koreans eat half of that in food on average.



You can fill the need by eating just one glass of milk or half a head of tofu a day.



In order to prevent osteoporosis, it is recommended to take calcium from food as much as possible, and to take supplements, inform the medical staff of the underlying disease and discuss it sufficiently.



(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Choi Eun-jin, CG: Ban So-hee)