Lead in Calcium Supplements

Despite the many benefits of calcium, an essential nutrient for healthy bones and teeth, women who take calcium supplements to stave off osteoporosis should be forewarned that these supplements may contain excessive amounts of lead. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), supplements may raise lead intake by 50%, contributing to the 18 micrograms of lead women consume from a variety of sources on average per day. A Canadian doctor, Dr. Bernard P. Bourgoin, first discovered lead in calcium supplements in 1993, and the results were published in the American Journal of Public Health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lead, a toxic metal which is ubiquitous in the environment, can harm the nervous, blood, renal, and reproductive systems over time even at low levels of exposure. The developing bodies and brains of children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, which can cause learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and hyperactive and/or antisocial behavior.

Under California's Proposition 65, the state set a standard in 1988 requiring warnings for products exposing consumers to lead in excess of 0.5 micrograms (mcg) per day from any one source. Leiner Health Products Group, the nation's largest manufacturer of dietary calcium supplements, including the brand name "Your Life" and house brands for CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart, has agreed to manufacture calcium products with less than 0.5 mcg per dosage. Dr. Gina Solomon, senior scientist at NRDC, stresses that consumers should not stop taking calcium supplements. "Just pick them carefully; you can't get the calcium without the lead," she says, but adds that you can choose supplements with less than 0.5 mcg per dose. Avoid calcium supplements that contain unrefined ground oyster shells, bone meal, or dolomite, which historically have contained higher lead levels. Try getting calcium naturally from food as well: 1/2 cup boiled spinach contains 122 mg, while a glass of whole milk provides 290 mg. Calcium is readily found in dairy products, as well as in dark green leafy vegetables, shrimp, sardines, black beans, tofu, sesame butter and molasses. A sufficient daily intake of calcium is between 1000 and 1500 mg per day.

NRDC, 415/777-0220 has an information packet; FDA Consumer Education Hotline, 800/FDA-4010; and the National Lead Information Center, 800/LEAD-FYI.