Calcium supplements

[Robin]

Just for my own curiosity..... Why do carbonated beverages cause calcium excretion? I had read this some time ago and just mentioned it to my mom last week...but I don't know that I've ever read what the scientific/medical explanation was.....

Inquiring minds want to know........
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Robin van der Merwe

Co-Host of "The Robin and Judy Show.

[timothy]

I might be able to help you with this one, Robin, since I happen to be online.

There are two main points, here.

First, abnormally high calcium excretion in people who drink carbonated beverages is actually confined to those taking drinks that also happen to contain caffeine. It's generally accepted now that it's the caffeine, not the fact that they're carbonated, that's causing it, simply because caffeine reduces calcium absorption exactly as Jana mentioned in one of the posts above. Carbonated drinks aren't taking the calcium out of people's bones and getting it out of their bodies, but the caffeine in many such drinks is preventing them from effectively absorbing some of the calcium in their food which they would otherwise absorb (though calcium absorption is only about 30% at the best of times). This effect, however, is very temporary, and people excreting an increased quantity of calcium after caffeine do excrete less of it at other times of the day to compensate for this, so the net clinical effect is probably negligible (if any).

Secondly, there are, however, apparent skeletal effects of drinking carbonated beverages, which is perhaps what you'd heard? This can be seen from the overall increased fracture-risk in people who drink a lot of them, but that can easily be accounted for by "milk displacement". In other words, it seems in these instances to be reduced dietary calcium (because of a relative lack of milk: many people who live on Coke or Diet Coke don't drink much milk, or tea with milk) that's causing the problem - once again not the carbonated beverages themselves.

In summary, it's true that many carbonated drinks cause some degree of calcuria, and it's also true that overall people who drink a lot of them tend collectively to have slightly worse bones and slightly more fractures, but actually none of this is directly attributable to the carbonated drinks, which are themselves a more-or-less innocent party. "Fings ain't always like wot they seem, innit?"

The moral of the story, if there is one, is probably to drink carbonated beverages without caffeine, if you drink them at all, and either drink milk too or take up to 500mg a day of a calcium supplement if concerned about calcium deficiency.

(With a little bit of notice, I can provide many medical journal references for all the above, if anyone wants them, but as ever, sadly, they're usually not available for online inspection to non-subscribers.)

Timothy

[Robin]

Timothy,
Thanks so much for that explanation..... As often happens, a short blurb in a magazine or newspaper can often skew the information without offerering the details. It makes much more sense to me now reading your explanation.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!

Have a super day,
Robin
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Robin van der Merwe

Co-Host of "The Robin and Judy Show.

[Almond]

The quality of some of the information in this forum is almost overwhelming just in the first week. Thank you!
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David Almond

[Steve]

Robin and Timothy,

Another explanation may be the phosphorus in the phosphoric acid component of soft drinks combining with calcium, pulling it from the bones. This is a theory that I'm wondering if it has ever been validated I know there is a specific Ca/Phosporus ratio that once gets inbalanced can cause serious health issues. I'll have to do some digging, but a rather notorious dentist here in the US (he's now deceased) had compiled some compelling research on this issue.


Steve
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"Good Health Is NOT Expensive, It's Priceless!"

[jana]