STOP Taking Calcium Supplements (What to Know) 2024

Summary

In this video, Dr. Berry challenges the common belief that calcium supplements strengthen bones, stating that they do not and may even increase health risks like heart attacks and kidney stones. He emphasizes that research does not support the benefits of calcium for bone strength, and instead, recommends weight-bearing exercise, vitamin D supplements, and cautions against milk consumption for adults. He urges viewers to share this information to prevent potential health issues in their loved ones.

Takeaways

• 🛑 Dr. Berry strongly advises against taking calcium supplements, stating they do not strengthen bones and may increase health risks.
• 🔍 The belief that calcium supplements strengthen bones is based on expert opinion rather than solid research evidence.
• 🧬 No study has proven that daily calcium supplements reduce the risk of bone fractures or increase bone strength.
• 🌏 Among the 5,700 species of mammals, humans are the only ones that consume milk as adults, and humans also have the highest rates of osteoporosis.
• 📊 Countries with the highest milk and calcium intake tend to have the highest fracture and osteoporosis rates.
• ⚠️ Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks, kidney stones, prostate cancer in men, and ovarian cancer in women.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Weight-bearing exercise is the most effective, free way to increase bone strength and density.
• ☀️ Vitamin D supplements are recommended over calcium to improve bone health.
• 🥛 Dr. Berry suggests that adults should stop drinking milk, as it does not contribute to bone health and may increase health risks.
• 👪 The message is a call to action to share this information with loved ones who may be taking calcium supplements unknowingly.
• 💼 Dr. Berry encourages viewers to discuss the use of prescription medications for bone health with their doctors, as they may not increase bone strength as expected.

Q & A

What is the main message Dr. Berry wants to convey in the video?

Dr. Berry's main message is that taking calcium supplements does not make bones stronger and can actually increase the risk of negative health outcomes such as heart attacks, kidney stones, and certain types of cancer.

Why is Dr. Berry asking viewers to subscribe to his channel?

Dr. Berry is asking viewers to subscribe to help spread his message to a wider audience and to ensure they receive future messages and updates.

What is the common misconception about calcium and bone health that Dr. Berry addresses?

The common misconception is that taking calcium supplements or drinking lots of milk will make bones stronger, which Dr. Berry argues is not supported by evidence.

What type of medical research does Dr. Berry consider to be the most reliable?

Dr. Berry considers placebo-controlled, double-blind studies to be the most reliable form of medical research because they provide the most accurate results.

What does Dr. Berry claim about the relationship between calcium intake and bone strength based on research?

Dr. Berry claims that no study has ever proven that taking a calcium supplement increases bone strength or reduces the likelihood of broken bones.

What thought exercise does Dr. Berry present to challenge the belief that drinking milk is beneficial for adults?

Dr. Berry points out that humans are the only species among the 5,700 species of mammals that drink milk as adults, and yet they are the only ones who suffer from osteoporosis.

What is the correlation Dr. Berry mentions between milk intake and fracture rates among different countries?

Dr. Berry states that countries with the highest milk and calcium intake also have the highest fracture rates and osteoporosis prevalence.

What are the three things Dr. Berry suggests to increase bone strength instead of taking calcium supplements?

Dr. Berry suggests weight-bearing exercise, taking a vitamin D supplement, and stopping milk consumption as the three things to increase bone strength.

Why does Dr. Berry recommend weight-bearing exercise for bone health?

Weight-bearing exercise is recommended because it stresses the bones, leading to increased bone strength as the bones adapt to the stress.

What is Dr. Berry's opinion on vitamin D supplements in relation to bone health?

Dr. Berry believes that taking a vitamin D supplement can make bones stronger, unlike calcium supplements which he advises against.

What is Dr. Berry's stance on drinking milk for adults according to the script?

Dr. Berry suggests that adults should stop drinking milk, as it does not provide the health benefits it is often credited with and may increase the risk of certain health issues.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 The Myth of Calcium Supplements for Bone Health

Dr. Berry starts the video by urging viewers to stop taking calcium supplements, asserting that they do not strengthen bones and may lead to negative health outcomes. He emphasizes the importance of subscribing to his channel to help spread this message. He challenges the common belief that calcium intake from supplements or milk makes bones stronger, stating that this idea is not backed by solid evidence but rather expert opinion. Dr. Berry highlights the lack of research proving that calcium supplements reduce the risk of bone fractures and points out that large studies have not found any such benefit.

05:01

🧠 Rethinking Calcium Intake and Its Risks

In this paragraph, Dr. Berry delves into the potential risks associated with calcium supplements. He discusses how increased calcium intake does not improve bone strength but may instead raise the risk of heart attacks, kidney stones, prostate cancer in men, and ovarian cancer in women. He uses thought exercises to challenge common sense beliefs about calcium, such as the fact that humans are the only adult mammals that consume milk and that countries with the highest calcium intake also have the highest fracture rates. Dr. Berry stresses that there is no benefit to calcium supplements and encourages viewers to consider alternative methods to strengthen bones.

10:02

🏋️‍♂️ Three Evidence-Based Tips for Stronger Bones

Dr. Berry provides three scientifically-backed tips to strengthen bones, starting with weight-bearing exercise, which he emphasizes is essential for bone health. He clarifies that bone strength is not static and can improve with the right activities. The second tip is to take a vitamin D supplement, which is crucial for bone health, and the third is to stop drinking milk, which he argues is unnecessary for adults and may contribute to health issues. He encourages viewers to share this information with their loved ones who may be taking calcium supplements unknowingly, to prevent potential health risks.

Keywords

💡Calcium Supplement

A calcium supplement is a dietary product that contains calcium, often taken to ensure adequate intake of this mineral. In the video, Dr. Berry emphasizes that contrary to popular belief, calcium supplements do not strengthen bones and may instead increase health risks, such as heart attacks and kidney stones.

💡Bone Strength

Bone strength refers to the resistance of bones to breaking or fracturing. The video's central theme is that common practices like taking calcium supplements do not actually enhance bone strength, and Dr. Berry provides alternative methods proven to improve it.

💡Medical Outcomes

Medical outcomes are the results or consequences of a disease or treatment. The script warns that taking calcium supplements can lead to negative medical outcomes, including a higher risk of heart attacks, which is a critical piece of the video's message.

💡Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence-based medicine is an approach to medical practice that emphasizes the use of rigorous evidence from well-conducted and valid studies. Dr. Berry criticizes the recommendation to take calcium supplements as not being based on solid evidence but rather on expert opinion.

💡Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a medical condition characterized by weakened bones and an increased risk of fractures. The video discusses the misconception that calcium intake prevents osteoporosis, which is challenged by the presented research findings.

💡Weight-Bearing Exercise

Weight-bearing exercise involves activities that force your bones to work against gravity, such as walking, running, or lifting weights. Dr. Berry highlights weight-bearing exercise as a free and effective way to strengthen bones, contrary to the passive intake of calcium supplements.

💡Vitamin D Supplement

A vitamin D supplement is a product that provides the essential vitamin D, which is crucial for bone health. In the video, Dr. Berry recommends taking a vitamin D supplement instead of calcium to improve bone strength, indicating a shift in the approach to bone health.

💡Milk Intake

Milk intake refers to the consumption of milk, which is often believed to be a good source of calcium for bone health. However, the video challenges this notion, suggesting that high milk intake does not prevent osteoporosis and may even be linked to higher fracture rates.

💡Heart Attack

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked. The video script mentions that increased calcium intake, from supplements or milk, is associated with a higher risk of heart attacks, which counters the common belief about calcium's benefits.

💡Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form inside the kidneys. Dr. Berry warns that taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of developing kidney stones, which is a painful condition and a significant health concern.

💡Cancer Risk

Cancer risk refers to the likelihood of developing cancer. The video suggests that calcium supplements may increase the risk of certain types of cancer, such as prostate cancer in men and ovarian cancer in women, which adds to the list of potential harms of calcium supplementation.

Highlights

Dr. Berry warns against taking calcium supplements, stating they do not strengthen bones and may increase health risks.

The belief that calcium supplements strengthen bones is based on expert opinion rather than solid research evidence.

No study has proven that daily calcium supplements reduce the likelihood of bone fractures.

Humans are the only adult mammal species that consumes milk, yet we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Countries with the highest calcium intake also have the highest fracture and osteoporosis rates.

Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attack, kidney stones, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Weight-bearing exercise, such as brisk walking, running, or lifting weights, is proven to strengthen bones.

Vitamin D supplements are recommended over calcium for bone health.

Dr. Berry advises against regular milk consumption, suggesting it may contribute to health issues rather than benefiting bone strength.

Bones are not static; they can grow stronger or weaker based on daily activities and nutrition.

Prescription drugs that increase bone density may not necessarily increase bone strength or reduce fracture risk.

Dr. Berry encourages viewers to discuss the effectiveness of their osteoporosis medications with their doctors.

The video aims to correct common misconceptions about calcium and bone health based on research and evidence.

Dr. Berry emphasizes the importance of sharing this information to prevent unnecessary health risks from calcium supplements.

A Patreon account is mentioned for those who wish to support Dr. Berry in creating more educational content.

The video concludes with a call to action to help spread the message about what truly strengthens bones.

Transcripts

hey this is dr. berry in this video I

want to talk to you about something

that's very important if you're taking a

calcium supplement stop it right now it

does not make your bones any stronger

and it can absolutely increase your risk

of very bad medical outcomes okay first

please take one second and hit the

subscribe button right there somewhere

that helps me spread this message to

people who need it and to spread future

messages so click the subscribe button

and maybe hit that Bell now let's talk

about calcium this is one of those

subjects that we all think we know

exactly the truth about this matter

it's not open for debate you should take

a calcium supplement you should drink

lots of milk because it makes your bones

stronger right okay if you believe if

you're not in going yeah that's right

then you need to watch this video this

is very very important I've been

studying this issue for a while I've

been looking at the research and what

I'm about to tell you you're probably

not going to believe what you've been

told

strengthens your bones actually doesn't

at all and increases your risk of having

bad medical outcomes in other parts of

your life at the end of this video I'm

going to tell you the three things that

absolutely have been proven by large

research studies to increase your bone

strength and decrease your risk of a

fracture you may not believe how simple

it is and how cheap it is okay so let's

talk about calcium if you're my age

group you remember all of a sudden we

were being told in the media

oh you need to take a calcium supplement

it helps to keep your bones stronger

it's very good for you you don't get

enough calcium in your diet you need to

take calcium and so we all thought well

calcium bones bones have a lot of

calcium yeah makes sense okay so we all

started doing that problem is this is

one of those evidence-based medicine

things that wasn't based on any real

evidence it was based on expert opinion

and so I think I've talked about before

the hierarchy of medical research the

best medical research of all is the

placebo controlled double-blind study

because you get real answers from that

if you're able to do a big enough study

and then as you come down you come down

to observational and other kinds of

studies at the very bottom of the barrel

if you don't have anything else to go on

then you get a bunch of experts in a

room and you ask their opinion and

then that's what you based the

recommendation on taking a calcium

supplement was based on none of this at

all it was based on expert opinion yeah

that's right that's exactly why you've

been taking that calcium supplement for

the last 20 years is because I got a

bunch of experts from Harvard and other

places in the room and they decided that

was in your best interest based on no

meaningful research at all not joking so

wait a minute dr. berry you're telling

me that there's no big research study

that shows that taking more calcium

increases your bone strength no no

there's not there's no study that shows

that if you take a calcium supplement

every day you're less likely to have a

broken bone mm-hmm no no there's no

study that study does not exist yeah

true story so what the heck's going on

here so they actually you know they

wanted really badly to prove this so

they did some big studies but at the end

of every study when you looked at the

true meaningful results background noise

it didn't do anything to increase your

bone strength whatsoever not a single

study has ever proved it now let's talk

about a couple of thought exercises here

and I think you'll get the the reasoning

behind what I'm saying

there are about 5,700 species of mammal

on this planet now the definition of a

mammal is that they make milk for their

babies that's what a mammal is they have

mammary glands and there's about 5,700

species of mammal on this planet but

only one of those species drinks milk as

an adult do you know which one it is

humans that's right we're the only ones

unless humans force our cats and dogs to

drink milk no other adult animal on the

planet no other adult mammal does that

period not a single one now out of the

5700 species of mammal on this planet do

you know how many species gets

osteoporosis or brittle bones one humans

that's right

yeah so just immediately your common

sense should kick in and you should go

what wait a minute okay here's another

thought exercise there are a hundred and

ninety five countries

this planet mmm 493 depending on your

political and religious orientation but

about 195 countries on this planet the

countries with the highest milk intake

the countries with the highest calcium

intake are also the countries that have

the highest fracture rate highest hip

fracture rate the highest rate of

osteoporosis so the countries that have

the lowest calcium intake have many much

less osteoporosis much less brittle

bones much less in the way of hip

fractures I mean so you see my point

here first of all the common sense is

totally against this if you look at it

like that right so with those two

thought exercises your common sense

muscle ought to be kicking in big-time

saying wait a minute so when the

researchers who fervently believed that

more calcium would make your bones

stronger they did design these huge

studies to prove it problem is they

didn't it didn't prove it it actually

proved that council Eve had no effect on

the bone strength at all so what did

those studies they found some things but

it wasn't stronger bones what they found

was is that taking a calcium supplement

certainly increased your risk of a heart

attack yeah yeah a heart attack your

rate of heart attack your risk of heart

attack goes up as your calcium intake

goes up whether it's from milk whether

it's from a calcium supplement calcium

intake makes your heart attack risk go

up that obviously is not a good thing

they also found that quite likely the

more calcium you takes the higher your

risk of kidney stones and I've never had

one but when a woman tells you that

something hurts worse than childbirth

you don't want that and I've had many a

female patient tell me that her kidney

stone was worse than having a baby so

calcium supplements almost certainly

increase your risk of kidney stones

promise you don't want that almost

certainly taking a calcium supplement

increases a man's chance of having

prostate cancer another finding was that

it almost certainly increases a woman's

ovarian cancer just taking citracal or

Cal trait or any of the generic calcium

supplements or just drinking lots of

milk thinking that the calcium is going

to do your body good or do your bones

good all it does is increase your risk

of heart attack and probably increase

your risk of cancer and kidney stone so

there's no benefit whatsoever to taking

a calcium supplement

you got that now here are the things the

three things that you can do that are

almost free that will definitely

increase your bone strength now there

are some prescription drugs that your

doctor can prescribe for you like boniva

Fosamax actonel Forteo that increase

your bone density

now density sounds like strength but the

problem is is when they do the big

studies even though these medicines are

they do increase your bone density they

evidently don't really increase your

bone strength because they barely affect

fracture risk at all so if you're taking

any kind of calcium supplement that's

over-the-counter go get it right now and

throw it in the garbage you'll actually

be saving money not wasting money if

you're taking a prescription medication

to prevent or to treat osteoporosis I

want you to go back and see your doctor

and say hey doc now this crazy doctor on

YouTube said that this medicine makes my

bone density stronger but that may not

be the same thing as bone strength is

that true see what he says watch watch

his face watch his expression we'll just

see what he says about that so the three

things you can do to increase your bone

density that have been proven in those

big studies that have been proven time

and time again to make your bones

stronger because that's what we want

when you fall we all fall when you fall

we don't want you to break a bone we

want your bones to be strong enough that

they don't break that's what matters we

don't want to care about your bone

density I don't really care about

anything except when you fall down I

don't want you to break a bone I also

don't want to cause you to have a heart

attack or cause you to have a kidney

stone or cause you to have cancer okay

so number one the number one thing you

can do that's absolutely free that will

increase your bone density more than

anything else you can possibly do is

weight bearing exercise now I've told

you before exercise won't help you lose

weight but it will make your bones

stronger I don't mean walking on the

treadmill I don't mean on the

Stairmaster I mean weight-bearing so

either walking briskly running lifting

weights those things stress your bones

and that makes your bones stronger we

all often think of our bones as rocks

they're just rocks they're just that's

it they're done they don't change when

you're an adult your bone is what your

bone is and you can't do anything about

it that is absolutely false okay

your bones are like trees they're

constantly growing they're constantly

getting stronger or weaker

they're getting straighter or they're

getting more bent every day based on

what you do and what you eat and what

you take true story no argument there

so your bones are going to get better or

worse based on are you doing

weight-bearing exercise so if you go for

a walk every day if you lift some some

weights your bones are getting stronger

if you go to work and sit for eight

hours and then come home and sit for

eight hours and then go to bed for eight

hours your bones are getting weaker

definitely no doubt about that so find

some time once or twice in your day to

do a few minutes of a weight-bearing

exercise it's free and it's proven

beyond any doubt to increase your bone

strength okay number two take a vitamin

D supplement

don't take a calcium supplement throw

the calcium in the garbage but take a

vitamin D supplement because that will

make your bones stronger okay number

three stop drinking milk remember this

is coming from a milk baby I grew up I

was a football player in high school in

my teenage years I drink almost a gallon

of milk a day

my family propagandize milk to me to the

point where I almost had a religious

fervor belief in milk only with years of

thought and study and looking into the

research have I come to my current

opinion that you don't need milk at all

when you're a grown-up so don't think

that I've drank the kool-aid I've put

the kool-aid down you don't need to

drink milk all milk does is increase

your risk of cancer heart attack kidney

stones you don't need it stop drinking

it okay if you love milk have us

small glass once a day as a treat but

don't consider it food because it's not

okay now last thing I need you to do for

me I really need you to help me share

this message and I'll tell you why I

found out that my 88 year old

grandmother just the other day I found

out she was still taking a calcium

supplement knowing would I know I see my

grandmother all the time we talk at

least twice a week on the phone it never

occurred to me that she was still taking

a calcium supplement your grandmother is

probably taking one to your mom your

aunt your sister they're taking calcium

supplements because they got into the

habit women are really good at getting

into habits of things that they think

help themselves or others she's got that

she's put it in her little pill box and

she takes it every day and she doesn't

think a thing about it please share this

video with your mom with your sister

with your grandmother if she's on social

media if she's not she will be shortly

you've got to share this because I

guarantee you you've got loved ones who

are taking a calcium supplement and

increasing their risk of heart attack

right now

please help me get this message out and

prevent heart attacks please help me get

this message out and prevent prostate

cancer kidney stones

please let's prevent kidney stones let's

keep these things from happening and

let's spread the word about what

actually makes your bones stronger okay

now if you'd like to help me have more

time in my day to make these videos I

have a patreon account and you can you

can give me a buck a month that's all I

mean literally that would help so much

because I have to take time away from my

duties in the clinic or away from my

family to make these videos I love

making these videos but there are only

so many hours in the day so check out my

patreon page if you want to help this is

doctor Barry I'll see you next time