Dinner or breakfast? New study reveals when to eat calcium to lower heart attack risk
It may be time to moo-ve that glass of milk at dinner to breakfast.
Researchers analyzed the calcium consumption of 36,164 American adults, finding that distributing calcium between breakfast and dinner lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Even better is reducing the calcium intake by 5% at dinner and upping the breakfast intake by 5%, which decreases cardiovascular risk by 6%, according to a study published last month in BMC Public Health.
The researchers noted that dietary calcium can improve blood lipids, fat mass and blood pressure, which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease includes heart failure, heart attack and stroke.
The key to absorption of calcium — which is plentiful in dairy products, dark leafy greens and certain fish — may be the body’s 24-hour biological clock.
“From a circadian pattern perspective, research suggests that calcium absorption might be slightly higher during the day because certain hormones that are required for calcium metabolism like the parathyroid hormone, for instance, tend to also be higher during daylight hours,” Melanie Murphy Richter — a registered dietitian nutritionist and the director of communications for the nutrition company Prolon, who was not involved in the study — told Medical News Today this week.
The new research does have limitations, including the exclusion of people younger than 20, pregnant women, people who consume more than 4,500 calories a day, and those taking calcium supplements.
The Mayo Clinic recommends men 19 to 70 years old and women 19 to 50 consume 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day, while men 71 and older and women 51 and up should get 1,200 milligrams.
The recommended upper limit for calcium is 2,500 milligrams a day for adults 19 to 50 and 2,000 milligrams for those who are older.
A cup of milk typically has 300 milligrams of calcium, while a cup of cooked spinach boasts 240 milligrams and 3 ounces of sardines contain 370 milligrams, according to University of California San Francisco Health.
Richter told Medical News Today that those who eat “a balanced diet rich in plants, nuts, seeds and occasional dairy or fortified dairy alternatives” likely do not need a calcium supplement.
But those who consume a lot of high-professed foods or those who are lactose intolerant may want to speak with their physician about supplementation.