Re: Re: Prednisone&Smoking-calcium

January 10, 2001

Patsy,

I posted a few articles yesterday about calcium's role in regulating blood

pressure. Another very important regulator of BP is water. It's been

awhile since I have preached about the importance of drinking water. I

never used to drink it until I started reading about the health benefits.

As many meds as we are all on, it should be easy to guzzle down an 8 ounce

glass of water every time we take a pill. I feel nutrition plays a major

roll on many health issues. Calcium is very important, but remember that

you need to have adequate vitamin D as well to properly metabolize the

calcium. Vitamin D causes bone resorption. Without bone resorption, the

calcium goes down the toilet.

Estrogen deficiency (amenorrhea), vitamin D deficiencies, smoking, and

medications also have an effect on calcium. Smoking stimulates the

conversion of estrogen to an inactive form. Woman who smoke heavily may

benefit less from the protective effects of estrogen replacement therapy.

Calcium citrate is absorbed more efficiently than other calcium salts, yet

even older individuals with low gastric acid content can sufficiently absorb

this element due to the acidity of other foods. Calcium carbonate (ie,

calcium source in TUMS) has the highest percentage of elemental calcium and

is one of the most commonly used dietary supplements.

Steroids (oral, parenteral, or high-dose inhaled) increase the kidney's

excretion of calcium and decrease intestinal absorption of calcium. As

calcium levels drop, parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels rise, increasing bone

resorption. As little as 7.5mg of oral steroids/day can result in bone

loss. Even at stable or slightly increasing steroid doses, bone loss appears

to be highest during the first 3 months of steroid treatment, and plateaus

at 6 months. Studies show that patients on 35mg to 50mg of prednisone every

2 days have 17% bone loss per year.

I hope everyone that must take steroids also takes Fosamax to help stop the

bone loss.

This Medscape article is a very good one. Registration is required at

Medscape, but it is free.

Clinical Essentials of Calcium and Skeletal Disorders

http://primarycare.medscape.com/PCI/calcium/public/calcium-about.html

a

----- Original Message -----

From: Patsy3 <Patsy3@...>

< egroups>

Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 10:55 PM

Subject: RE: [ ] Re: Prednisone & Smoking

> Hi,

>

> Regarding calcium: I look for calcium capsules (sp), or the candy calcium

> which dissolves almost immediately.

>

> I had an interesting experience recently with -- or rather without --

> calcium. My blood pressure went way up. I don't have a problem with

blood

> pressure unless I have been in a traumatic accident of some sort, and

> nothing was unusual in my life other than coping with RA and Fibro. I

tried

> to figure out anything that was different and remembered I had been out of

> calcium for two or three weeks. I went immediately to buy calcium and

> within 10 days or so I was back in the normal blood pressure range. I had

> read that calcium helps control blood pressure, but I had forgotten about

> it. My mother has been on blood pressure medicine for years, and maybe if

I

> did not take calcium daily I would too!

>

> Thanks for listening!

>

> Patsy

January 11, 2001

Dear a,

Thanks for the infor on calcium. I do take calcium with vitamin D even

though I probably get plenty of D from the sun here in CA. I just know it

was amazing how much my blood pressure jumped without calcium for awhile.

Someone on this forum mentioned having a kidney stone that was possibly

caused by too much calcium. I just pray I never set my self up for that

problem with my calcium supplements.

Patsy

-----Original Message-----

From: a [mailto:aA@...]

Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 8:21 AM

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Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Prednisone & Smoking-calcium