How calcium can impact insulin sensitivity

Articles

The End to End Health Team

American adults with a dietary calcium intake below the Recommended Daily Amount had a 20% increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Each 300, 600 and 1000 (mg/day) increment in dietary Ca intake was respectively associated with 7, 14 and 23% reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes in all subpopulations.
In American populations, there was a significant inverse association between risk of Type 2 Diabetes and low magnesium intake.
A higher ratio of calcium to magnesium was linked to a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes in all subpopulations.
An increased vitamin D3 intake was linked to a decreased risk of Type 2 Diabetes in men, but did not have a statistically significant difference in women.

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Insulin sensitivity refers to how reactive your body is to a spike in glucose. The rate of glucose uptake is dependent on how effectively your body can absorb blood sugar. The more efficient your glucose uptake, the less insulin is required to lower your blood glucose level.
Insulin resistant people have reduced insulin sensitivity, resulting in the buildup of glucose in the blood since it does not enter the beta-cells as easily. Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes, but a diagnosis does not guarantee you will develop diabetes. Even people with Type 2 Diabetes can increase their insulin sensitivity, which can help reduce the amount of insulin injections you require and potentially allow you to get off medication eventually.
Although higher insulin sensitivity is generally positive, particularly high insulin sensitivity is generally associated with type 1 diabetes.

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Calcium prevents diabetes by improving your insulin sensitivity and the function of pancreatic β-cell. Howver, nearly 40% of American populations do not fulfill the daily calcium requirement from their diet.
Calcium ions stimulate insulin release to blood since the uptake of glucose by beta-cells activates calcium channels, which allow calcium ions to flow. These calcium channels then stimulate insulin release to the blood.
Hypocalcemia (low calcium levels in the blood) in non-diabetic people has been found to impair insulin release, which can result in glucose metabolism disorders and insulin resistance.
A high calcium-to-magnesium ratio leads to insulin resistance as well as hypertension. Researchers like Roasanoff hypothesize that a low magnesium diet contributes to cellular calcium activation if the calcium level is high since the receptors that regulate calcium also impact magnesium regulation. When the calcium to magnesium ratio exceeds 2:1, magnesium will not be absorbed in the gut.

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Each of the above forms of calcium supplements are best absorbed when taken in small doses (no more than 500 mg) at mealtimes. Calcium citrate is absorbed equally well when taken with or without food and is a form recommended.
Since the impact of calcium supplementation has not yet been fully understood and absorption differs significantly between compounds, the following studies examining the relationship between calcium and diabetes risk concentrate exclusively on dietary calcium intake. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between supplementary calcium and diabetes.

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There was no significant linear relation between an increase of 300, or 600, or 1000 mg/day dietary calcium intake and the likelihood of Type 2 Diabetes.
However, when we consider a linear dose-response analysis, we find that each 300, 600 and 1000 (mg/day) increment in dietary Ca intake was respectively associated with 7, 14 and 23% reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Meta-analysis suggests a higher calcium intake was related to a 34% lower likelihood of Type 2 Diabetes and hyperglycemia in women.
Men with a vitamin D intake of at least 5.25 micrograms per day had a 21% lower risk of diabetes, but there was no statistically significant change in diabetes risk for women by vitamin D intake.
Meta-analysis suggests a higher magnesium intake (approximately 430 mg) was related to a 34% lower likelihood of Type 2 Diabetes compared with the lowest quintile (151 mg). Considering the same disparity between upper quintile and lowest quintile, women had a 53% reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Although higher calcium intake was linked to a decrease in diabetes risk, the ratio of calcium to magnesium intake also should be kept sufficiently low. The upper quintile of Calcium to Magnesium dietary intake had a 29% increased diabetes risk compared with the lowest quintile.

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This first prediction adjusted for sex, race, and age. Studies that also adjusted for other factors including body mass index groups, educational level, exercise regularly (yes/no), current smoker status, current drinker status, annual household income, energy intake in groups, and total vitamin D. This combination of factors suggests a statistically significant result.

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Tracking your dietary calcium and magnesium is very helpful to examine if you are achieving the daily recommended amounts before supplementation.
If you find that you are not achieving the daily recommended values, substituting higher calcium items and foods containing more vitamin D can be helpful. Additionally, if your calcium-to-magnesium intake exceeds 2:1, look for foods with high amounts of magnesium and ensure any calcium supplements you take also contain a proportional amount of magnesium.

If you would like to monitor your blood sugar, you can consider investing in a continuous glucose monitor like Dexcom (https://www.dexcom.com/en-us/continuous-glucose-monitoring), a minimally-invasive product that allows you to observe the change in your blood sugar.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7958525/#:~:text=Calcium%20has%20a%20vital%20role,et%20al.%2C%202007).