Therapy for hypercalcemia depends on the cause.
Emergency department referral is required for:
- Hypercalcemic crisis (total serum calcium of >3.5 mmol/l).
General measures
- Review of continuous medication due topossible effect on existing disease; e.g.:
- Cave: digitalis (→ calcium content increases intracellularly).
Nutritional medicine
- Nutritional counseling based on nutritional analysis
- Nutritional recommendations according to a mixed diet taking into account the disease at hand. This means, among other things:
- A total of 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruit daily (≥ 400 g; 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit).
- Once or twice a week fresh sea fish, i.e. fatty marine fish (omega-3 fatty acids) such as salmon, herring, mackerel.
- High-fiber diet (whole grains, vegetables).
- Observance of the following special dietary recommendations:
- Low calcium diet (calcium rich foods are: Beans, chickpeas, soybeans, broccoli, fennel, spinach, kale, milk and dairy products, sesame seeds).
- Foods or their ingredients inhibit enteric calcium absorption:
- High-fiber foods, such as wheat bran, flaxseed, wheat germ and legumes.
- Phytic acid (phytates)
- Oxalate
- Phosphates
- Long chain saturated fatty acids
- Tannic acid in coffee and black tea
- Selection of appropriate food based on the nutritional analysis
- See also under “Therapy with micronutrients (vital substances)” – if necessary, taking a suitable dietary supplement (eg, potassium citrate; this is better tolerated than potassium chloride; if necessary, additionally – depending on the magnesium serum level – supplementation with magnesium citrate).
- Detailed information on nutritional medicine can be obtained from us.
