Hi there. I read that taking calcium supplements can increase your risk of heart problems so I don't go there. I think it's not too bad if you also take magnesium and vit d but for me I would rather get it through diet. Are you unable to eat eggs and dairy. There are many vegetable sources of calcium too.

That's a pretty broad statement. I found a website of a Naturopath who has HH and he sells calcium citrate. It's 250 mg and comes with vitamin D. He says it's perfectly safe in dosages that low. His website is: hemochromatosishelp.com

I have a sensitivity to dairy.

I just wanna take something when I eat meat to reduce the iron absorption. Any suggestions? Also I think it depends how much of a calcium supplement you are taking at one time.

Maybe taking a 2:1 ratio of magnesium to calcium would be a safer bet. We don't get enough magnesium in our diets anyway. So many different answers!! Who to believe?

I know the site thanks anyway. He's not a cardiac specialist though. Specialists in the field believe supplemental calcium not only gets laid down in the bones but also in the arteries. You must go with what you are comfortable with though. I find it helpful to google medical disciplines specifically eg. Cardiac symptoms and hemochromatosis rather than access generic knowledge. I am also wary of sites that make money out of selling you stuff. Cheers

Hello baldguy79 and looney1,

I don't regularly or frequently take supplements and I always look to medical research. If I take anything I want to know exactly what it is and what a therapeutic dose is.

Unfortunately the field of supplements and unproven medicine is a minefield. I have heard of people with HH taking Milk Thistle because it helps with the liver but there is research which shows that it is harmful for people with HH.

I went to a couple of naturopaths over time and both of them recommended iron. When I took it I got stomach pains and felt sick - probably because I had HH, although I didn't know it at the time.

My partner comes back from visits to his complementary practitioner with several pots of pills - he has a whole drawer full of them but he has no idea if they actually do any good. The practitioner must rake in a fortune though if he persuades everyone he sees to buy these pills.

I always want to be absolutely sure that what I am taking has a proper evidence base (randomised trials) and I will only take dietary advice from a trained medical person. Medical intervention does not always go as hoped, but it has made a huge difference to people's health all over the world since the 1950s so I'll stick with it for now.

Christine

I also have difficulty with dairy as my source for calcium. I have found that I can readily drink Almond Milk - which has 45% more calcium per serving than regular milk. (my favorite is an unsweetened vanilla so it also limits the sugar). I have made this a regular part of day as well as with my meals with red meat. I do prefer a more natural way such as this to get my calcium vs a supplement.

Hi all,

I forgot to say above that I do eat cheese with Italian food and yoghurt with Indian food as a way of adding calcium to my meals with meat. I also drink almond milk.

Christine