The BBC aired a documentary touting the benefits of calcium. And one of the benefits was its ability to block dietary fat from being digested.

But the question remains, can supplementing with calcium really make that big of a difference?

Well, I wish I could say it would. But the bottom line is that taking in a bunch of calcium is most likely NOT going to have a significant impact on your body fat levels. And it’s probably not a good idea to block fat absorption.

Why? Because fat is absolutely necessary for the production of hormones that accelerate fat loss.

Even worse, please consider the following risks of excess calcium supplementation:

1. Competition with iron. All the cells in your body need oxygen to produce energy. Iron is used by hemoglobin to transport oxygen. And if you take in too much calcium you can decrease the absorption of iron. Not good.

2. Lower amounts of calcium. If you take a bunch of antacids to get more calcium, you should probably stop. Why? Because certain minerals in antacids can actually leave you with a net negative amount of calcium!

3. Painful stones. Kidney stones are not fun by any stretch of the imagination. And if you have a history here, then calcium supplementation should be done under the supervision of a qualified doctor.

4. Too much D. Many calcium supplements are super fortified with vitamin D. And if you have hefty amounts of vitamin D coming from other sources in your diet, you risk overdose. Now vitamin D is an exceptional nutrient, but too much of anything is NOT good for you.

Now calcium supplements aren’t all evil, taking them in excess is. And the tricky part here is that many of the foods we eat can be fortified with a multitude of vitamins and minerals. This can add up as the weeks and months go by. So be careful with what you put in your body!

Highly acclaimed writer, Katherine Crawford, a Harvard fitness expert and former flabby arms refugee, teaches women how to get rid of arm fat. Discover how to get sexy arms by exploring her blog about how to get toned arms right now!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 7:57 am and is filed under fat loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.