Master Qi is 65 years old and usually in good health. Recently, he often felt soreness and pain in his lower back and went to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. He was puzzled by this. Why do I have kidney stones even though I lack calcium? Can I take calcium supplements? How should I take it? Calcium is an essential mineral for the human body, accounting for 1.5% to 2.5% of the total body weight, that is, the average adult body contains about 1200 grams of calcium or more. 99% of calcium is in the bones and teeth, and 1% of calcium is in the blood, which maintains a dynamic balance with bone calcium. Calcium deficiency in human body can lead to skeletal underdevelopment, osteoporosis, joint pain and weakness, etc. Modern medical research shows that people should take calcium supplements throughout their lives, especially for children, the elderly, postmenopausal women, and patients with stones. Stones are a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people. The traditional theory is that too much calcium intake causes stone disease because since calcium and oxalic acid are the main components of stones and 90% of kidney stones are calcium oxalate, patients should reduce their calcium intake. In recent years, this theory has been questioned, and domestic and foreign scholars have shown that the formation of stones is the result of a combination of factors, such as genetics, endocrine, various diseases, obesity, parasites, dietary habits and blood calcium levels. At present, it is believed that stone formation is mainly influenced by four factors, namely, supersaturation, inhibition of activity, promotion of activity and particle stagnation. Authoritative experimental studies in the UK have shown that people with more calcium supplementation are less likely to develop stones than those with less. The study confirmed that stone disease is not due to excessive calcium intake, but to disorders of calcium metabolism in the body. Disorders of calcium metabolism lead to abnormal migration of calcium, i.e., a large loss of calcium from the bone to the blood, which strengthens the contraction of vascular smooth muscle and leads to spasm of small blood vessels throughout the body, eventually leading to senile hypertension. The formation of kidney stones does not depend on how much calcium is ingested, but mainly on the level of oxalic acid concentration. If the oxalic acid concentration is high, even without calcium supplementation, oxalic acid will combine with calcium released from the bone to form calcium oxalate, forming new small stones or increasing the size of existing stones. Limiting calcium intake does not prevent stone formation. Therefore, patients with stones still need to take calcium supplements, preferably dietary. If the elderly do not take calcium supplements, it will not only affect the normal physiological function of the elderly, but also make osteoporosis more serious in the long run. Calcium supplementation is generally preferred to dietary calcium supplementation. Stone patients can usually eat more calcium and protein-rich foods, such as tofu, dairy products, fish and shrimp, bone broth, shrimp and seafood. These food sources of calcium are not only highly absorbed, but also have a loose structure and are not easily crystallized. To reduce the intake of oxalic acid-rich foods, you can also use the principle that anions in different salts compete with each other by drinking more drinks containing citric acid or eating more fruits to ingest citric acid in fruits, so that the citrate root can compete with calcium ions and reduce the accumulation of insoluble calcium oxalate. Those with obvious calcium deficiency should take a variety of bioactive calcium tablets, such as calcium pearl, calcium megacalc, calcium Erci D and Shen Yi active calcium powder, on top of dietary calcium supplementation, as well as vitamin D to promote the absorption and utilization of calcium in the intestines. The absorption rate of calcium gluconate and calcium carbonate is poor because after the absorption of calcium ions of bioactive calcium, its acid root combines with other calcium and magnesium ions that will form stones in the excretion process, generating insoluble substances and excreted out of the body. As the body absorbs calcium, it must have the right amount of phosphorus to help, the calcium to phosphorus ratio of 3:2 is appropriate. Foods rich in phosphorus are: milk, eggs, meat, fish and beans, etc. Daily calcium intake should be 1 to 1.5 grams, so that not only will not aggravate the symptoms of stones, but also improve the disease of osteoporosis. If you take more than 2 grams per day, excess calcium may be deposited in the kidneys to aggravate kidney stones. Alcohol and coffee should not be consumed during calcium supplementation. Existing kidney stones should be removed as early as possible depending on the situation. There are many ways to prevent kidney stones such as drinking more water, which increases urinary excretion and brings out metabolic wastes (such as calcium oxalate, which is the main component of urethral stones), thus effectively preventing stones. Do not eat foods that contain a lot of oxalic acid, such as spinach, strawberries, amaranth, wild rice, beets, as well as black tea, chocolate, dried bamboo shoots and sauerkraut; if you want to eat them, you should blanch them with water first, which can remove most of the oxalic acid. In addition, the application of some drugs that increase the inhibitory effect, such as magnesium, potassium citrate, orthophosphate and exogenous acidic mucopolysaccharide can reduce the occurrence of kidney stones.