Calcium – bone builder or risky? Travel kitchen tip.

 My Digestion TeleSeminar
Learn about digestion from the comfort of your home. My teleseminar is this Tuesday, June 19 at 7 PM. If you are interested but not available at that time, you might sign up anyway because those who are registered will have a brief opportunity to use an archive. Click this link for info and to register: LINK.
 
Healthy by Nature radio show this week
I aim to help keep you healthy and active (i.e. avoid degenerative disease) until your number is up. This week, part of that is alerting you to hazards that are all around us. The wide variety of creative ways people can find to suddenly die prematurely is darkly comical. I was amazed by the huge collection of odd death statistics, trivia and vintage illustrations and photos compiled in Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die, by Michael Largo. So, I invited him to be a guest. We also talk with Derek Mellencamp about how to assure that your drinking water is not contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Click here to find pod-casts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.
 
Will the “experts” please make up their darn minds?
Calcium. I remember back in the mid 80’s that no one questioned that women need extra calcium to guard against osteoporosis. The first (and still one of the few) “health claim” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved was one that says calcium builds strong bones. (Health claims are descriptions of benefits approved for use on packages and in advertising.) At that time the FDA proclaimed 1,000 mg as the right daily dose. Oddly, no differentiation in dose was made between forms that were easily absorbed and those that weren’t. Also, no mention was made of the need for any other nutrients to make the calcium effective and safe.

Nutritionists knew that people should at least take a product that also contained magnesium. When the FDA said it was considering increasing the daily intake recommendation to 1,500 mg, that sounded extreme and so I ignored them. Then I learned that the US has the highest intake of dairy products and calcium in the world and yet the highest rate of osteoporosis. Common sense started to seem more reliable than federal guidelines. I began recommending a bone formula like Jarrow’s BoneUp because it is a superior form of calcium and contains many of the other nutrients the body requires to get calcium into the bone rather than into inconvenient places like bone spurs, kidney stones or worse yet, arteries. In most cases I told clients not to take the full dose because they also get calcium in their foods. That is still my position.

Calcium and heart disease. Researchers looking to document a benefit from calcium on heart disease did not find one. Calcium from dairy products didn’t seem to help. Calcium from supplements actually seemed to increase the risk of heart attack. LINK. Scientists can’t control for all possible variables such as differentiating between supplements of plain calcium and those that also contained magnesium. Also, surely they didn’t sort out people taking good quality supplements from those taking ones that are more like ground up rocks. Who knows how many of the supplement takers were cautious healthy folks or just trying to compensate for bad habits? The list of possible questions goes on, but in any case, the findings are alarming. Perhaps we can gain some insight by looking at the diet of our primitive ancestors.

Our hunter-gatherer forbearers had a much greater supply of Vitamin K–it helps keep calcium going into the bone rather than the arteries. Vitamin K comes from dark leafy greens (like spinach and kale) which used to be a much greater proportion of the diet. It is also made by beneficial bacteria in the gut. Unfortunately, those good bacteria are depleted by medications, chlorinated water and many other modern inventions.

Both Calcium and Magnesium are important for bone. In the ancient diet, magnesium was plentiful (from greens, nuts, seeds, etc.), so our chemistry did not need to be protective of it. Calcium was rarer and our systems became good at hanging on to it. Today, the supply equation has reversed. Magnesium deficiency is widespread, while at the same time dairy intake is great. Even orange juice has added calcium! Tiny muscles constrict or relax blood vessels. Calcium makes muscles contract while Magnesium relaxes them. Might that be part of the calcium/cardio connection? I think it makes sense to appreciate our natural chemistry and therefore work harder at getting magnesium and back off the hunt for calcium.

Next week: bones part 2-what about FDA approved bone drugs and ideas on improving bone density safely.

 

Kitchen tip for on the road

File this one under “slightly wacky”. I was in New Mexico this week for meetings. Other than scrambled eggs, the breakfast buffet was the typical starchfest. A couple days in I decided to make my own breakfast with leftovers from an excellent dinner the night before. I cut the grilled salmon, roasted veggies and onions into bite sized pieces. I spooned them and the rice into the coffee pot and did a little stir-fry. It was hot and yummy. Of course, I didn’t want to leave a mess for the cleaning crew, so washed the pot out thoroughly with shampoo and a clean wash cloth. Fortunately there was a small refrigerator in my room. When there isn’t, I use this trick: fold a bath towel on the bottom of the bath tub. Fill the plastic bag from the ice bucket with ice from the dispenser down the hall. Tie the top of the bag tightly. Put the bag of ice on top of the to-go container of food. Wrap another doubled bath towel around it snugly on top. Usually there is still ice in the morning and the food is safely cold.
  LAST WEEK
Two herbal experts and Dr. Paula Strait joined us to discuss how most common underarm deodorants interfere with one of our body’s important detoxification pathways and possibly increase the risk of cancer.  On the lighter side we investigate another type that actually promotes detoxification.  Even more interesting, these herbalists have discovered how to use the same principles to reduce belly fat…yes from the outside. To purchase, visit: www.TummyShrinker.com or call toll free 1-866-999-3006.

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My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book: Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

The information contained in this newsletter has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The contents are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Copyright 2012 Martie Whittekin, CCN