[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteoporosis\/are-you-losing-too-much-calcium-in-your-urine\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteoporosis\/are-you-losing-too-much-calcium-in-your-urine\/","headline":"Are you losing too much calcium in your urine?","name":"Are you losing too much calcium in your urine?","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest What\u2019s the biggest problem with calcium? It may come as a surprise that while most people don\u2019t have a problem getting enough calcium, there is a major problem for many people when it comes to keeping calcium in their body so that it can help strengthen bone. […]","datePublished":"2017-04-14","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/hypercalciuria-BB-Blog-2-20.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/hypercalciuria-BB-Blog-2-20.jpg","height":1109,"width":2120},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteoporosis\/are-you-losing-too-much-calcium-in-your-urine\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g","name":"How can I tell if I am losing calcium from my body?","description":"It's estimated that 20% or more of people with osteoporosis suffer from hypercalciuria \u2014 excessive loss of calcium in the urine. Dr. Brown explains how to tell if you are losing too much calcium and easy steps you can take to preserve bone health.\n\n\u2192 Want to learn everything you need to manage & reverse your osteoporosis\/osteopenia naturally in one inspiring weekend with Dr. Brown? Join our bone health retreat & workshop! Learn more here: https:\/\/shop.betterbones.com\/pages\/love-your-bones-love-your-life-virtual-retreat\n\n\u2192 If you are interested in working with Dr. Brown to develop a personalized natural bone health program, read more about consultations here: https:\/\/www.betterbones.com\/consultations\/help-osteoporosis-osteopenia-fracture-healing-bone-health-concerns\/\n\n\u2192 Would you like your questions answered by Dr. Brown?  Comment below and she may address them in a future video!\n\nCheck out our website! \u2192 http:\/\/ www.betterbones.com\n\nWant to connect with Better Bones on social media?\nLike on Facebook \u2192 http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bFollow on Twitter \u2192 http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/drsusanbrown\n\u200bFollow our Instagram \u2192 http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bCheck out our Pinterest \u2192 http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\n#osteoporosis #osteopenia #bonemass #bonehealth #weightandbonemass #womenshealth #drsusanbrown #betterbonesbetterbody #preventosteoporosis\nExercise for bone health: patreon.com\/betterbones\n\nTranscription:\nhi everyone this is dr. Susan brown\nagain from the center for better bones\nI'm really happy to be with you all here\ntoday and in fact as you might have\nnoticed every Thursday I'm going to try\nto spend a few minutes with you so we\ncan look over the materials in the blog\nanswer any questions you have about the\nblog the topic we discovered we\ndiscussed that particular week in the\nbetter bones blog and then also to\nanswer any questions you have and\nthere's actually a few questions from\nlast week I'm going to try to answer\nthose if we get a chance but first I\nwant to talk to you about this week's\nblog which is that whole interesting\nquestion of how do I know if I'm losing\ncalcium from my body am I losing calcium\nparticularly from my urine\nnow this blog we wrote because it's\nreally important to understand can we we\nknow calcium is important but are we\nkeeping it in the body and what we find\nthrough our research on bone health is\nthat 20% and in some studies 40% of all\nwomen who are found to have osteoporosis\nare actually losing calcium in the urine\nand when you can correct that loss of\ncalcium you really helped to stabilize\nbone so let's go into a little detail\nabout this the the question of the\nrecycling of calcium in the body is\nreally fascinating the body is a great\nrecycling plant probably one of the best\nrecycling plants that their ever existed\nwe take in calcium we take in iron we\ntake in minerals and we recycle recycle\nthose minerals however when we look at\ncalcium there's calcium in the blood and\nthat's where it's active as a as a as a\nas many things as a messenger to\nregulate heartbeat it affects the nerves\ncalcium has many important roles in the\nblood and of course calcium is put in\nthe bone for another person another\nreason it is stored in bone it gives\nstrength to bone in a certain sense and\nit's stored so it can be drawn back into\nthe blood when we need it in the blood\nand so it's very important to have a\nprecise level of blood calcium\nthe kidneys are always filtering the\nblood and their job is the great\nrecycler so they purify the blood and\nthey put all the good stuff back in the\nblood and all the bad stuff so to speak\nin the urine now what can happen with\nthe calcium as the body's filtering the\nblood all day long is the kidneys filter\nall day long\nthey can filter several thousand\nmilligrams of calcium most of it is put\nright back into the blood set to use\nagain everything is fine however a small\namount of it is lost in the kidneys and\nthis can be because the kidneys are\nactually a little bit ineffective and\nthey're not recycling at all or it can\nbe because we're doing things like\ntaking too much salt or actually under a\nlot of stress or certain drugs and\nmedications that cause us to lose\ncalcium in the urine the first thing\nwe're going to talk about is just\nknowing that this can happen and knowing\nthat this can contribute to osteoporosis\nit's a as a matter of fact in Spain they\nlooked at this they took women women and\nmen with osteopenia and with\nosteoporosis and they found that those\nwith osteoporosis were losing much more\ncalcium in the urine and in their\nstudies 40% of all the people with\nosteoporosis we're losing calcium in the\nurine you might know that here at the\nCenter for better balance it's our\nbelief that every single cause of every\nsingle case of excessive bone loss has a\ncause and so one of these causes that\ndoctors don't pay enough attention to is\na loss of calcium in the urine and\nthat's why we're writing about this so\nit's an important thing","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5Q8FCnqT-_g\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5Q8FCnqT-_g\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5Q8FCnqT-_g\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5Q8FCnqT-_g\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5Q8FCnqT-_g\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2017-07-24T17:57:27+00:00","duration":"PT24M29S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5Q8FCnqT-_g","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown","description":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, is a medical anthropologist, a New York State Certified Nutritionist, and the author of Better Bones, Better Body -- the first comprehensive look at natural bone health. Dr. Brown specializes in osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone health regeneration, and auto-immune disease. She is also famous for her natural approach to bone health; check out her Better Bones programs and products.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_m0l08uY9k8RO1FbN8-VsYIOa8fiq9BtocNNM_k3xw7a7s=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":30236}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5Q8FCnqT-_g#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":782}]},"about":["Osteoporosis","Testing"],"wordCount":798,"keywords":["NTx","hypercalciuria","24 hour urine calcium"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s the biggest problem with calcium? It may come as a surprise that while most people don\u2019t have a problem getting enough calcium, there is a major problem for many people when it comes to keeping calcium in their body so that it can help strengthen bone.In fact, 20% or more of people with osteoporosis suffer from hypercalciuria \u2014 excessive loss of calcium in the urine. No matter what the cause, hypercalciuria always jeopardizes bone and is associated with lower bone density and increased fracture risk.The link between hypercalciuria and osteoporosis is so strong that expert researchers suggest everyone with a diagnosis of osteoporosis be screened for it.Table of ContentsToggle     4 Minutes ReadDo you have hypercalciuria?What are your options if you have hypercalciuria?Do you have hypercalciuria? Luckily, there\u2019s a fairly simple laboratory test to determine if you\u2019re losing calcium. You\u2019re asked to collect your urine over 24 hours and submit it for chemical analysis to determine how much calcium it contains. Most labs consider any 24-hour calcium loss over 250\u2013300 mg of calcium to be excessive.If your 24-hour urine calcium comes back high, don\u2019t panic: You may have gotten that result simply because you are taking too much calcium. When there\u2019s an unusually high consumption of calcium from diet and supplements, the body simply moves unneeded calcium from the body into urine to get rid of it. Your doctor will likely recommend you retake the test, but this time avoiding all calcium supplements (and probably also dairy foods) for a week before again collecting your 24-hour urine sample.If your re-test shows you\u2019re genuinely losing calcium, again: don\u2019t panic. Excessive calcium loss in the urine can be due to factors like high intake of salt, caffeine, soda, or sugar, low levels of nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin K, and even prolonged stress. These factors all promote an acidic pH (which promotes calcium loss), and they\u2019re all things you can begin correcting on your own.Dietary and lifestyle changes may not always solve the problem (though they may), as loss of calcium can also be related to medical issues such as hyperparathyroidism, kidney issues, hyper-absorption of calcium, vitamin D toxicity, autoimmune sarcoidosis or excessive bone breakdown related to \u201csilent\u201d diseases like diabetes or thyroid disorders. If your calcium excretion is consistently high, such possible causes should be explored by your physician.What are your options if you have hypercalciuria?If testing confirms you\u2019re losing excessive calcium but your healthcare practitioner can\u2019t identify and correct the cause of this problem, it\u2019s pretty common practice to recommend a thiazide diuretic, which is known to help keep calcium in the body.I favor the approach used by functional medicine and naturopathic practitioners, which is to first try to reduce urine calcium loss with a program of lifestyle and nutritional changes, perhaps combined with acupuncture to enhance kidney functioning, before using medications. But no matter what therapeutic approach you choose, it\u2019s always important to retest and make sure that you have effectively reduced the loss of calcium in the urine.Keep in mind that a high loss of calcium in the urine not only weakens bone, but also puts you at risk of developing kidney stones. Thus, if you are experiencing a high loss of calcium in the urine, be sure to drink plenty of water; this dilutes urine and reduces the risk of kidney stones. (This works both ways: if you have a history of kidney stone formation, be sure to get testing for excessive urinary calcium loss.)Here at the Center for Better Bones, I suggest every person with an osteoporosis diagnosis be tested to rule out hypercalciuria. For more information see my DVD on uncovering the hidden causes of bone loss and my article about testing for bone loss. Diet and lifestyle contribute to urine calcium loss High salt intakeHigh alcohol and caffeine consumptionA diet high in sodas, refined carbohydrates and sugarExcess protein intakeLow intake of vegetables, fruits, root crops, nuts and seedsAcid-forming dietLow dietary intake of potassium, magnesium, vitamin KProlonged stress and high cortisol\u00a0References:Asplin JR, Donahue S, Kinder J, Coe FL. Urine calcium excretion predicts bone loss in idiopathic hypercalciuria. Kidney Int 2006;70:1463\u20131467.Gir\u00f3n-Prieto MS, Cano-Garc\u00eda M, Poyatos-And\u00fajar A, et al. The value of hypercalciuria in patients with osteopenia versus osteoporosis. Urolithiasis August 2016. DOI: 10.1007\/s00240-016-0909-2Giannini S, Nobile M, Dalle Carbonare L, et al. Hypercalciuria is common and important finding and postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Eur J Endocrinol 2003;149:209\u2013213.  For guidance on supplementation alongside testing, see our guide to the best supplements for bone health."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Osteoporosis","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteoporosis\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are you losing too much calcium in your urine?","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/osteoporosis\/are-you-losing-too-much-calcium-in-your-urine\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]