Besides the coral calcium supplement mentioned at the end of the article, Aqualyte is another good one and cheaper. It's available at http://www.fredkaufman.com/Order.html.
Miriam
Calcium an Important Food ElementWhat Is Calcium
Calcium is the most abundant and the most important mineral in the body, yet it is the most difficult to get absorbed and utilized by the cells.
Calcium is a metal, bright and shiny like all other metals. It is not the white powdery substance most people think it is. The white powdery substance people think is calcium is actually calcium carbonate, or another compound of calcium with calcium only making up much less than half of the total molecular weight of the substance.
Calcium is used more than any other mineral in the body. In fact there are 179 different known uses for calcium in the human body. Calcium is vital in the formation of and maintenance of strong bones and teeth. It prevents bone loss associated with osteoporosis. It controls muscle contraction and relaxation, and is needed for muscle growth. Calcium is important in the maintenance of regular heartbeat, the transmission of nerve impulses, and the transfer of information between our brain cells. It controls osmosis and diffusion through the cell membranes, and also the passing of information within the cell. Calcium provides energy and participate`s in the protein structuring of RNA and the DNA DNA formation in chromosomes. This important mineral is also essential in blood clotting, urine filtration, and helps prevent colon cancer. Calcium lowers above range blood pressure.
Calcium controls the the formation of enzymes and hormones. It is involved in the activation of several enzymes including lipase. The amino acid lysine is needed for calcium absorption.
And in addition, and perhaps most importantly, it is the main buffer used to neutralize acids and to maintain the proper pH throughout the body.
About 99% of our body's calcium is deposited in the bones and teeth. The remaining 1% is present in body fluids, approximately equally divided between diffusible calcium and non-diffusible calcium. The diffusible calcium is bound to blood proteins, chiefly to albumin, although a small amount is bound by the globulins in the blood.
Scientists have discovered that the body fluids of healthy people are mildly alkaline (high pH), whereas the body fluids of the sick are acidic (low pH). Calcium is responsible for maintaining the proper body fluid pH.
To stay alive, blood must remain slightly alkaline. When you drink a cola (highly acidic), take medications or consume foods that are acidic to the body, it uses calcium to buffer the excess acid to keep the pH of the blood slightly alkaline. If the body can't get the calcium it needs from its reserves, it takes it from the bones and this leads to more problems. Thus, calcium reserves are extremely important to maintain good health.
Calcium Deficiency
Calcium deficiency, which is also known as hypocalcemia is responsible for approximately 150 different degenerative diseases and conditions, and also other problems that can be harmful or dangerous to the body.
A calcium deficiency may result in the following symptoms; muscle cramps, nervousness, heart palpitations, brittle nails, eczema, hypertension, aching joints, increased cholesterol levels, rheumatoid arthritis, tooth decay, insomnia, rickets, and numbness in the arms and/or legs.
All degenerate diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, gallstones, kidney stones, arthritis, osteoporosis, and many more have been scientifically linked to deficiencies in calcium.
If there is any calcium deficiency, lead will be absorbed by the body and deposited in the teeth and bones. Calcium protects the bones and teeth from lead by inhibiting absorption of the toxic metal. Its deficiency may account for the higher level of lead in children who have higher incidence of cavities.
The following is a partial list of calcium deficiencies. Some of them may be familiar.
From the above list, it is very interesting to note that kidney stones are included. Kidney stones are a buildup of calcium in the kidney which are very painful to pass and surgery is sometimes necessary to remove them. At one time doctors thought that the stones formed because of an over-abundance of calcium in the diet and instructed the patients to restrict their calcium intake. This has been shown, not only to be completely false, but actually the exact opposite is true. Kidney stones are caused by a lack of calcium in the diet. What happens is: for whatever reason, the body becomes acidic, and the body leaches calcium out of the bones to neutralize the acid, as I've already said, to keep the pH from dropping below the level that supports life. The problem is, the calcium from the bones is not very bioavailable and only a small percentage is actually used to correct the acid situation and the rest starts to accumulate in the kidney, or it may form bone spurs.
Scientific evidence has proven the stones are not formed from calcium in the diet by using radioactive markers on the dietary calcium. When the stones and spurs were later examined there was not one bit of radioactive calcium contained in them. Fully 100% of the kidney stones and bone spurs comes from calcium leached out of the bones in order to neutralize the acids in the body fluids. Some doctors still haven't received the new information and are telling their patients to restrict their calcium intake. That, of course, is going to make the problem worse and cause more stones and spurs to develop. And that will lead to the doctor's only solution at that point.
Female athletes and women experiencing menopause need greater amounts of calcium due to lower estrogen levels
The average American diet of meats, refined grains, and soft drinks (high in phosphorus) has been documented to contribute to increased bone loss in adults. It is important to remember that proper calcium absorption absolutely requires an adequate level of vitamin D, through diet or by supplement. This vitamin controls the absorption of calcium ions. So one can see that biochemical absorption of calcium is not an easy matter. The excretion of calcium is largely through the mucosa of the small intestines, and a comparatively small quantity (25-35%) is excreted in the urine as calcium phosphate. Since excretion is a normal continuous process, a negative calcium balance can result if dietary intake is too low.
Can Cola & Sodas Kill?
Over the long term the effects of colas are devastating to the body. Acidity, sugars, and artificial flavors and sweeteners can shorten life. It would take 32 glasses of alkaline water at an alkaline pH of 9 to neutralize the acid from one 12 oz. cola or soda. Drinking a cola or soda, the body will use up reserves of its own stored alkaline buffers, mainly calcium from the bones and DNA, to raise the body's alkalinity levels, especially to maintain proper blood alkaline pH levels. Acidic blood levels cause death! There are enough acids in one soda to kill if there is no mechanism to neutralize them. This can occur if the body's mineral buffers are used up.
Sodas, like water and other liquids, pass very quickly through the stomach into the small intestine where it is quickly assimilated into the bloodstream through the openings in the villi in the walls of the intestines.They can also be absorbed right through the stomach's lining directly into the blood. Liquids do not stay in the digestive tract like solid food does. All liquids go into the bloodstream, is filtered through the liver and the kidneys, and what is not needed is sent to the bladder and urinated out. These liquids come in contact with virtually every cell in the body.
When a substance is an acid, there are a large number of positively charged hydrogen ions. These positively charged ions are lacking electrons and steal electrons from other atoms in the body which themselves become electrically unstable and seek other electrons from other atoms. Acids are free radicals that creates a chain reaction of electron stealing. Whenever an electron is torn from an atom a little spark is produced that can damages cell membranes. It's called free radical damage and can be seen under a microscope in a live blood cell analysis.
If there is not enough minerals in the body, the process can not stop. Then the supply of available minerals to neutralize the acids will result into a very serious degenerative disease. Every soda that one drinks will contribute to this acidity. Even without soda our bodies naturally produce acids. Minerals are needed in our diets to stop the deterioration process. Unfortunately, most of the food that we eat no longer contains the minerals that we need. This may be the reason for all the degenerative diseases that are so prevalent today.
Most degenerative diseases are called Old-Age Diseases. Memory loss, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, and many more are actually life style diseases caused by acidosis, the lack of minerals in our diet, what acids we ingest, or toxins not properly eliminate.
Are USP Supplements a good source of Calcium?Where Do USP Vitamins and Minerals Come From?
The vast majority of vitamins and minerals available today are supplied by a few extremely large and powerful chemical companies. The nutrients that these few companies produce fall under the labeling of USP, United States Pharmacopoeia. These nutrients are placed into containers of various brands of products as vitamins and minerals.
These nutrients are not a food source that the body recognizes. The companies either break the food down and extract each vitamin separately or grind up rock to extract the minerals. These are known as Isolated Chemical nutrients, as they have been isolated from the food source leaving you with a single nutrient such as Iron.
The vitamin considered coming from a natural source, does not mean it is natural. Once they are isolated from the natural things they are bound to in foods, like ammino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and bioflavinoids, they no longer contain what they did in food to make them stable. Their chemical structure is altered in their labs to make them stable. Once this happens, they are no longer natural and not usable by the body.
Many of the commonly supplemented minerals are actually have their industrial uses.
Are You Taking Ground Up Rocks?
We live in an age where confusion surrounds dietary practices, fueled partly by the food industries advertising campaigns. Health professionals acknowledge that humans are not supposed to consume soil as a food source for minerals, but most will overlook this fact when mineral supplementation is involved.
Most of us are becoming increasingly aware of the need for calcium in our diets as a necessary factor for our health and longevity. When our health practitioners recommend that we go to the store and get some Tums or Oyster Shell tablets and take two daily, they are really not aware of how very little of the calcium is bioavailable to the cells of our bodies? They are not educated in biochemical calcium absorption. They do not know how much of the calcium we consume in these tablet forms is actually being absorbed and used by the body?
Minerals are either organic or inorganic. For example, would you rather get your calcium from a concrete or green salid? The body cannot get proper nutrition from inorganic minerals, it is designed to get nutrition from living plants. For human consumption, minerals from food are superior to minerals from soil.
Calcium is a prime example of how dangerous these minerals can be. Calcium supplements are taken by millions of women. Even though American women take more calcium supplements than anywhere else in the world we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. This deadly condition known as "brittle bone disease" causes holes in the bone that can lead to crippling fractures and often death.
In the adjacent photo, you can see a compression fracture of the spine caused by advanced softening of the bone. Unfortunately taking most calcium tablets does little to help the problem, and can cause deadly side effects.
Read the labels of your calcium supplement and you will be amazed to see that most calcium is sold in the form of calcium carbonate. This is an inorganic form of calcium, typically ground up oyster shells, chalk or extracted from rocks. If the label says Calcium Citrate - you think it comes from Oranges -- NO, its calcium carbonate mixed with Citric Acid! If the label says Calcium Lactate - you think it comes from Milk -- NO, its calcium carbonate mixed with Lactic Acid!
Studies show that only about 2% of calcium carbonate is absorbed by the body! Where does the other 98% go? Significant amount of unabsorbed calcium left in the body will interact with inorganic compounds to form stones. This is one of the major causes of kidney stones, small intestine stones and stones in other part of your body.
Most Calcium Added as Food Supplements is Crushed Rock = 
Calcium cannot be properly absorbed unless other trace minerals are present along with it. Calcium needs boron, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, silicon, strontium, and zinc to be absorb to its full potential. .
Another critical aspect of the benefit this new biotechnology is the way minerals are transported in the body. There is a systematic process the body uses to transport minerals directly to the cells. Without the special protein "chaperone" found in food nutrients the crushed rock minerals found in virtually all supplements end up floating aimlessly in the blood. There are deadly consequences of these free-floating minerals.
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Florida ground water is acidic and loaded with dissolved limestone. Typical scale and calcium buildup caused by hardwater has almost closed the pipe on the right. Take a look at the difference between a normal pipe on the left and the the clogged on the right. What limestone can do to your home plumbing can also do to your arteries.
Without the protein transport to shuttle the calcium directly to the proper tissues, calcium carbonate (which is simply crushed limestone) can bind to a variety of tissues with deadly results. This calcium can find its way into the breasts and kidneys. Even more deadly it may end up in the walls of your arteries where it causes hardening and thickening. This calcium plaque is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke. Take a look at the difference between a normal coronary artery and one that has become clogged with calcium plaque.
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Mega drug companies have kept these facts a secret from the public. Their laboratory made chemicals and crushed rocks have a minimal health benefit at best, and can cause real harm.
What are Isolated Chemical Vitamins and Minerals?
Knowing that our current food supply does not supply all the nutrients necessary to survive, in an attempt to make our life easier, science has found a way to compensate
 for the loss. Nutrients are removed from their natural environment and presented as a synthesized single chemical. As an example, ascorbic acid is never isolated in nature, but occurs in food molecularly bonded to other food elements including bioflavonoids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids and known as vitamin C.
The body recognizes nutrients in a food form and can efficiently utilize nutrients from whole food. The body has difficulty in recognizing and processing the chemically isolated forms and so just rejects it. To give you an example, if you took the wheels, engine and seats out of your car you would not get very far. This is basically what you are doing by removing the nutrient from the complex whole food. The absorption factor for most chemical isolates is in the area of 5% and very rarely exceeds 20%. This may be the reason that many scientists and doctors have suggested that taking large amounts of supplements is only useful for producing expensive urine.
Taking standard USP forms of isolated nutrients, vitamins and supplements is equivalent to sending your mail out without addressing the envelope. The nutrients never get to where they needed to go.
Chemical Differences
The basic difference between minerals found in foods and those found in processed rocks is chemical. Minerals are normally found in food and in the body attached with some peptide [8,9]. When humans eat plants (or animals) they are consuming minerals in those forms. With the exception of sodium chloride (common table salt), humans do not normally consume minerals in the chemical forms known as mineral salts (when they do, it is considered to be a disorder called 'geophagia' or 'pica' [10,11]). Even though they are aware of this, many health professionals advocate supplementing with processed soil components.
It is a fact that mineral salts are often called "natural", but they are not food minerals. Mineral salts are molecular compounds that look like rocks [12]. Mineral salts are a compound containing a mineral element (which is the mineral normally listed on a supplement label) and some other substance it is chemically bound to. Mineral salts are either rocks (e.g. calcium carbonate exists as the rock commonly known as limestone) or they are rocks which are chemically-altered. Mineral salts are natural food for plants (which can chemically change and detoxify them [13]), they are not a natural food for humans.
A chemical analogy might be appropriate here to better explain the difference. If there is hydrogen present with oxygen, the hydrogen will burn if heated to its kindling point. However, when hydrogen binds with oxygen and becomes the chemical compound known as water, it will not burn, no matter what the temperature. Even though water contains hydrogen, hydrogen bound in water does not react the same way as unbound hydrogen. Minerals bound in mineral salts simply are not treated the same way in the body as are minerals found in food.
Most Minerals in Supplements are Industrial Chemicals
The following list will describe what many mineral salts/chelates used in supplements actually are and what they are used for when not in supplements:
'Chelated' Minerals
Chelated minerals, as a rule, are generally crushed industrial rocks processed with one or more acids. Probably the biggest difference in minerals now compared to 45 years ago is that some companies have decided to industrially produce human-made versions of minerals attached to peptides. Essentially they take a rock or industrial mineral salt, chemically alter it, and attempt to attach it to the mineral. This results in a mineral that is different from normal mineral salts, but does not turn the substance into a food. Examples of this include the various mineral ascorbates, picolinates, aspartates, glycinates, and chelates. It needs to be understood that since there is not a universally accepted definition of the term 'chelate', when this term is used on a label, one generally does not know if the chelate is amino-acid based or some type of industrial acid.
It should be noted, for example, that the addition of "citric acid and picolinic acid do not appear to enhance zinc absorption" [21]. Please also understand that chromium picolinate is a human-made substance, created by Gary Evans [22]--it is not a natural food. Picolinic acid is used in herbicides [16]; furthermore "picolinic acid is an excretory or waste product. It is not metabolized by, or useful to the body" [23].
Jay Patricks claims to have originally developed procedures to manufacture all seven of the mineral ascorbates [23]; thus it would seem highly inappropriate to call supplements with ascorbate attached minerals 'food'.
Actually, it does not appear that any of the minerals marketed as 'chelated' are food concentrates (though there are foods which contain naturally chelated minerals, but these are normally marketed as food minerals). Even though there may be some theoretical advantages of industrially-produced mineral 'chelates' as compared to inorganic mineral salts, these chelates are not natural food.
It is well known among nutrition researchers that most essential minerals are not well absorbed (some are less than 1%) [24]. "Bioavailability of orally administered vitamins, minerals, and trace elements is subject to a complex set of influences...In nutrition science the term 'bioavailability' encompasses the sum of impacts that may reduce or foster the metabolic utilization of a nutrient" [25]. University studies (which may or may not conform to peer-review standards) show that the bioavailability of mineral containing foods is greater than that of isolated inorganic mineral salts or mineral chelates [e.g. 26-37]. These studies have concluded that natural food minerals may be better absorbed, utilized, and/or retained than mineral salts:
Furthermore it needs to be understood that minerals used in most supplements do not contain protein chaperones or other food factors needed for absorption into the cell. In 1996, the Nobel prize for medicine was awarded for discovering that minerals need protein chaperones to be absorbed into cellular receptors. Here is how one laboratory describes what happens when mineral salts without protein chaperones are consumed, "It is after digestion when other mineral forms {mineral salts} have their mineral cleaved from their carriers. In this situation, these minerals become charged ions, and their absorbability becomes in jeopardy. These charged free minerals are known to block the absorption of one another, or to combine with other dietary factors to form compounds that are unabsorbable" [38]. A question to consider is, should people on a daily basis consume a dozen or more chemicals which are not naturally included in any human food? If not, should multi-mineral products for health maintenance be consumed which contain industrial mineral salts/chelates or should only those which contain mineral dense foods?
Foods used in supplements that commonly provide significant quantities of essential minerals include dulse, horsetail herb, kelp, nutritional yeast , rice bran, and water thyme. These types of foods have been shown to contain not only minerals in natural food forms, but also important protein chaperones such as ATX1 and ceruplasmin [39,40]. So in addition to being chemically different, industrial mineral salts do not contain the protein chaperones or other food factors needed for proper mineral absorption. Furthermore, some foods also contain factors which reduce the probability of certain minerals to be toxic to the body [41-43]--industrial mineral salts and chelates are simply not that complete.
Quantitative Differences
In addition to not containing residue chemicals that the body must discard, there are quantitative differences in food vs. non-food minerals. The following chart lists some of them by mineral:
Food Mineral Compared to Mineral Salt/Chelate
Calcium Up to 8.79 times more bioavailable [28].
Chromium Up to 25 times more bioavailable [44]. Copper 1.85 time more retained in the liver [34]. Germanium 5.30 times more retained in the liver [26]. Iron 1.77 times more absorbed into blood [34]. Magnesium Up to 2.20 times more bioavailable [35]. Manganese 1.63 times more retained in the liver [34]. Molybdenum 16.49 times more absorbed into blood [34]. Selenium Up to 17.60 time the antioxidant effect [37]. Zinc 6.46 times more absorbed into blood [34].
There are also other benefits. In addition to having higher antioxidant ability, one study found that food selenium is 123 times more effective in reducing nonenzyamtic protein glycation (a potential contributor to Alzheimer's) than a selenium mineral salt [31]. A seven week study found that food calcium (from nutritional yeast) was able to reduce diastolic blood pressure by 8.2%, whereas the mineral salt calcium used resulted in no significant change [28]. Food chromium has been shown to be 2.80 times more effective in reducing blood glucose levels than inorganic chromium [29,30]. Foods, almost by definition, are not toxic, and as mentioned earlier, can have protective factors to prevent certain potential mineral toxicities [41-43].
Is bigger better?
In spite of all this research, some have felt that if they take, for example, twice as much of an industrial rock (called a mineral salt) than a food mineral, then it will be just as effective in the body. That is not true. An analogy might be appropriate here. Let's say two people want to build a computer. One has 100% of all the parts (like in food nutrients) and the other has 94% of all the parts (lacking protein chaperones and other food factors), but the parts are a lot bigger (like in USP rocks, because they contain non-essential mineral attachments), which computer will work correctly? The one with all the parts! Most minerals are cheap (or not so cheap) industrial imitations of food minerals--they are not food!
Industrially processed rocks can have some positive nutritional effects (as well as unnatural residues), yet they are not food for humans. Unlike humans, plants have roots or hyphae which aid in the absorption of minerals. Plants actually have the ability to decrease the toxicity of compounds by changing their biochemical forms [13]. Plants are intended to ingest rocks, humans are not [1]. Real foods, and not industrial imitations, are the preferred source of minerals by those who believe in the principles of basic, traditional naturopathy.
Is Dairy a Good Source of Calcium?
Calcium from milk and milk products is absorbed at a higher percentage rate than calcium from supplements because of the co-factors found in the milk. However, the high animal protein content, fat, pesticides, and bovine growth hormones in the milk make it less than desirable to consume.
Who Gets Bone Disease?
Why do nations with the highest rates of bone disease also have the highest milk consumption rates? The highest rates of osteoporosis are to be found in Denmark, Holland, Norway, and Sweden.
Evidences is so prevalent worldwide. In Africa, there are the Masai tribesmen who consume large amounts of calcium from the milk of their cattle. They have bone diseases. Then in rural African agricultural communities, the agrigarians maintain good bones on a much lower intake, less than 400 milligrams per day. They have no bone disease. Their calcium is from highly bioavailable sources and their diets do not contain excessive phosphorus or protein.
We are told to consume 1000 milligrams per day of calcium. Inuit Eskimos consume 3500 milligrams of calcium each day, and by age 40 are bone crippled.
THE KEY TO OSTEOPOROSIS: It's not how much calcium you eat. It's how much calcium you prevent from leaving your bones.
Why Does Calcium Leave Bones?
There are 28 amino acids in nature. The human body can manufacture 19 of them. The other nine are called "essential." We must get them from the foods we eat. One of those "essential" aminos is methionine, which is C-5, H-11, NO, S
One needs methionine for many human metabolic functions including digestion, detoxification of heavy metals, and muscle metabolism. However, an excess of methionine can be toxic.
Methionine is a good source for sulfur. But eating foods containing too much methionine, the blood will become acidic. The sulfur converts to sulfates and weak forms of sulphuric acid. The body leeches calcium from the bones to neutralize the acid,
According to Dr. Sellmeyer, "Sulphur-containing amino acids in protein-containing foods are metabolized to sulfuric acid. Animal foods provide predominantly acid precursors. Acidosis stimulates osteoclastic activity and inhibits osteoblast activity."
"Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995; 61 (4)
Animal proteins contain more methionine than plant proteins. Let's compare cow's milk to soymilk:
Methionine in 100 grams of soymilk: .040 grams
Methionine in 100 grams of whole milk: .083 grams Methionine in 100 grams of skim milk: .099 grams
Now, let's compare 100 gram portions of tofu to meat: (All of the meat products are lean and without skin)
Silken soft tofu: .074 grams
Hamburger: .282 grams Hard boiled egg: .392 grams Roast ham: .535 grams Baked codfish: .679 grams Swiss cheese .784 grams Roast chicken: .801 grams
In 1988, N.A. Breslau and colleagues identified the relationship between protein-rich diets and calcium metabolism, noting that protein caused calcium loss. His work was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology (1988;66:140-6).
A 1994 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Remer T, Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:1356-61) found that animal proteins cause calcium to be leached from the bones and excreted in the urine.
"Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein." Science 1986;233(4763)
"Even when eating 1,400 mg of calcium daily, one can lose up to 4% of his or her bone mass each year while consuming a high-protein diet." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1979;32(4)
"Increasing one's protein intake by 100% may cause calcium loss to double." Journal of Nutrition, 1981; 111 (3)
"Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures... metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium." American Journal of Epidemiology 1994;139
Animal Protein Increases Bone Loss
A study published in the January, 2001 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the diets of 1,035 women, particularly focusing on the protein intake from animal and vegetable products. Deborah Sellmeyer, M.D., found: In her study, women with a high animal-to-vegetable protein ratio experienced an increased rate of femoral neck bone loss. A high animal-to-vegetable protein ratio was also associated with an increased risk of hip fracture.
Meat Eaters Have More Hip Fractures
Sellmeyer's remarkable publication reveals:
"Women with high animal-to-vegetable protein rations were heavier and had higher intake of total protein. These women had a significantly increased rate of bone loss than those who ate just vegetable protein. Women consuming higher rates of animal protein had higher rates of bone loss and hip fracture by a factor of four times."
Milk has been called "liquid meat." The average American eats five ounces of animal protein each day in the form of red meat and chicken. At the same time, the average American consumes nearly six times that amount (29.2 ounces) per day of milk and dairy products.
Ironicly, the Dairy Industry Promotes the Cause of Bone Disease as the Cure.
Deborah Sellmeyer's brilliant work is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Sellmeyer may be reached by EMAIL: dsellmeyer@psg.ucsf.edu
Her original column:
Human breast milk is Mother Nature's PERFECT FORMULA for baby humans. Even dairy industry scientists would not be foolish enough to debate this UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED FACT. In her wisdom, Mother Nature included 33 milligrams of calcium in every 100 grams, or 3 1/2-ounce portion of human breast milk.
Adults do not drink human breast milk. At the end of this column is a list of calcium values in the foods we eat. Each food is compared to human breast milk as the standard. You might be surprised to learn how many foods naturally contain an abundance of calcium. One must wonder why Asians traditionally did not get bone-crippling osteoporosis...that is, until they adopted the "American Diet," a diet of milk and dairy products.
The dairy industry owns the psychological exclusive rights to calcium in foods found in super markets. Few food manufacturers would dare to compete with the dairy message which infers that no other foods contain the calcium contained in milk, and without milk and dairy products you're certain to one day end up with bone-crippling osteoporosis. Tropicana Orange Juice has been marketing a Fruit-Cal orange juice which, according to the Tropicana company, contains a more absorbable type of calcium than other calcium supplements. Each cup of Tropicana's pure premium calcium contains 350 milligrams of calcium as opposed to only 302 in one cup of milk and 172 in one ounce of American cheese. Minute Maid also has a Calcium-Orange Juice product and claims that it contains fifteen times the amount of calcium as contained in an equivalent sample of regular orange juice. Gerber's Baby cereal sells a box of single grain barley upon which they write, "An excellent source of iron and a good source of calcium." The side panel of their box reveals that their cereal contains barley flour and tri and di calcium phosphate. Other than orange juice and baby food, no visible claim to calcium is made by any food manufacturer. The reason, of course, is that milk holds the monopoly. They hold title to and make claim to America's calcium perception. Few would dare challenge that claim.
The Dairy Industry and milk processors invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year to guarantee that Americans will continue to drink milk and eat dairy products, investing their money to continually let Americans know that milk tastes good and the intake of milk and dairy products must be continued to insure good health. Milk mustaches are stylish. Drink milk and you're beautiful! Gorgeous models, actors, actresses, sports heroes, even President Clinton and Bob Dole have posed for milk advertisements. All have asserted by the milky white goo artificially applied to their upper lip that drinking milk is healthful and wholesome. Who would argue with such an overwhelming endorsement? Billboards spanning America ask the question, "Got milk?" Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive major league baseball games played. Ripken, holding a baseball bat, smiles from inside the front cover of a "GOT MILK" brochure proclaiming, "With all the skim milk I drink, my name might as well be Calcium Ripken, Jr."
Common knowledge of osteoporosis is based upon false assumptions. American women have been drinking an average of two pounds of milk or eating the equivalent milk in dairy products per day for their entire lives. Doctors recommend calcium intake for increasing and maintaining bone strength and bone density which they call bone mass. According to this regimen recommended by doctors and milk industry executives, women's bone mass would approach that of pre-historic dinosaurs. This line of reasoning should be equally extinct. Twenty-five million American women have osteoporosis. Drinking milk does not prevent osteoporosis. Milk contains calcium. Bones contain calcium too. When we are advised to add calcium to our diets we tend to drink milk or eat dairy foods.
In order to absorb calcium, the body needs comparable amounts of another mineral element, magnesium. Milk and dairy products contain only small amounts of magnesium. Without the presence of magnesium, the body only absorbs 25 percent of the available dairy calcium content. The remainder of the calcium spells trouble. Without magnesium, excess calcium is utilized by the body in injurious ways. The body uses calcium to build the mortar on arterial walls which becomes atherosclerotic plaques. Excess calcium is converted by the kidneys into painful stones which grow in size like pearls in oysters, blocking our urinary tracts. Excess calcium contributes to arthritis; painful calcium buildup often is manifested as gout. The USDA has formulated a chart of recommended daily intakes of vitamins and minerals. The term that FDA uses is Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA for calcium is 1500 mg. The RDA for magnesium is 750 mg.
Society stresses the importance of calcium, but rarely magnesium. Yet, magnesium is vital to enzymatic activity. In addition to insuring proper absorption of calcium, magnesium is critical to proper neural and muscular function and to maintaining proper pH balance in the body. Magnesium, along with vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), helps to dissolve calcium phosphate stones which often accumulate from excesses of dairy intake. Good sources of magnesium include beans, green leafy vegetables like kale and collards, whole grains and orange juice. Non-dairy sources of calcium include green leafy vegetables, almonds, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, oats, beans, parsley, sesame seeds and tofu.
Osteoporosis is NOT a problem that should be associated with lack of calcium intake. Osteoporosis results from calcium loss. The massive amounts of protein in milk result in a 50 percent loss of calcium in the urine. In other words, by doubling your protein intake there will be a loss of 1-1.5 percent in skeletal mass per year in postmenopausal women. The calcium contained in leafy green vegetables is more easily absorbed than the calcium in milk, and plant proteins do not result in calcium loss the same way as do animal proteins. If a postmenopausal woman loses 1-1.5 percent bone mass per year, what will be the effect after 20 years? When osteoporosis occurs levels of calcium (being excreted from the bones)in the blood are high. Milk only adds to these high levels of calcium which is excreted or used by the body to add to damaging atherosclerosis, gout, kidney stones, etc.
Bone mass does not increase after age 35. This is a biological fact that is not in dispute by scientists. However, this fact is ignored by marketing geniuses in the milk industry who make certain that women this age and older are targeted consumers for milk and dairy products. At least one in four women will suffer from osteoporosis with fractures of the ribs, hip or forearm. In 1994, University of Texas researchers published results of an experiment indicating that supplemental calcium is ineffective in preventing bone loss. Within 5 years of the initial onset of menopause, there is an accelerated rate of loss of bone, particularly from the spine. During this period of time, estrogen replacement is most effective in preventing rapid bone density loss.
Milk Consumption Does Not Prevent Hip Fractures
A publication in the February, 2003 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 77, No. 2, 504-511) clearly demonstrates that eighteen years of milk consumption did not prevent hip fractures for post-menopausal women. 72,737 subjects participated in the study.
As part of Walter Willett's Harvard Nurses Study, investigator Diane Feskanich performed statistical tests of significance for 18 years of data including dietary intake of calcium (dairy and supplements) to determine her findings.
The conclusion reached from this observational analyses, is that dietary calcium plays little or no role in preventing bone loss. Drinking milk does not prevent osteoporosis. A total of 603 hip fractures were analyzed.
The Harvard Nurses study previously determined that there is no positive association between teenaged milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. (American Journal of Public Health 1997;87). As a matter of fact, just the opposite was found to be true. Women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods suffered significantly increased risks of hip fractures.
In light of these findings, the dairy industry milk mustache campaign has been proven to be one enormous deception. Bones break because women eating the wrong foods create an acid condition in their own bloodstreams, which must be neutralized by available calcium. The body achieves balance by taking calcium out of its own bones. People eating the greatest amount of total animal protein are the ones experiencing accelerated rates of bone loss. The same Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (1995; 61, 4) confirmed this truth: "Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton."
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1979;32,4) reported: "Even when eating 1,400 mg of calcium daily, one can lose up to 4% of his or her bone mass each year while consuming a high-protein diet."
The Framingham Heart Study is the largest and most exciting heart study in the history of mankind.
From the study. homocysteines were identified as key factors in heart attack deaths. Homocysteines are normal breakdown products of methionine and are believed to exert a number of toxic effects in the body. The senior investigator of the Framinham heart study, William Castelli, M.D. (E-mail: william_castelli@mwmc.com) has suggested that an elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for heart disease. The first evidence of this was published in the Amercian Journal of Cardiology (Glueck, 1995;75:1326).
Two recent publications resulting from Framingham data indicate a positive correlation between cardiovascular disease mortality and blood serum levels of homocysteine.
Bostom AG, et. al, Nonfasting plasma total homocysteine levels and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in elderly Framingham men and women. Arch Intern Med 1999; 159:1077-1080.
Bostom A.G., et. al, Nonfasting plasma total homocysteine levels and stroke incidence in elderly persons: the Framingham Study. Ann Intern Med 131[5], 352-355, 1999.
In 1992, B.J. Abelow and colleagues published their study of cross-cultural associations between hip fractures and nutrition. Focusing upon dietary calcium and protein intake, their paper (Calcified Tissue International 50:14-18, 192) the research shows: Nations in which calcium intake averaged 1000 milligrams per day "enjoyed" the highest rates of hip fractures. Nations in which very little calcium was consumed exhibited low rates of hip fractures, contrary to what doctors and dairy industry marketing representatives wish us to believe.
Nations in which animal protein intake was high also experienced high rates of hip fractures. The opposite was also true. Nations in which animal protein intake was low had low rates of hip fractures.
Cow's milk is both a "great source" of calcium.and animal protein. Nations eating such "great sources" of calcium and animal protein experience the highest rates of crippling bone disease.
Abelow's explanation has received little attention. He believes that elevated metabolic acid production associated with a high animal protein diet might lead to chronic bone buffering and bone dissolution. Subsequent studies have supported such a conclusion.
In 1994, the American Journal of Epidemiology (volume 139) reported:
"Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures...metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium."
In 1995, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol.61:4) reported:
"Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton."
The 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 female nurses, published in the American Journal of Public Health (1997, volume 87), concluded:
"There is no significant association between teenaged milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. Data indicate that frequent milk consumption and higher dietary calcium intakes in middle aged women do not provide protection against hip or forearm fractures...women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods had significantly increased risks of hip fractures, while no increase in fracture risk was observed for the same levels of calcium from nondairy sources."
Milk Causes Bone Fractures - The Nurse Study
The single-most important reason for drinking milk has been contradicted and negated by the largest scientific study in history.
Milk Does Not Protect Against Bone Breaks
Click on this backbreaker!
The new ANTI-DAIRY advertising campaign from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is an effective antidote for the dairy industry. "Don't count on milk to beat osteoporosis. In a Harvard study of 78,000 nurses, drinking three or more glasses of milk per day did not reduce fractures at all. An Australian study showed the same thing. Still, you do need calcium, and good non-dairy sources include fortified orange or apple juice, green leafy vegetables, beans and calcium supplements. The amount you need is less when you reduce sodium and animal protein in your diet. Exercise and vitamin D (from the sun or a supplement) are also key."
PCRM's ad campaign is based upon two studies; The Harvard Nurse's study - Cumming & Klineberg, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and the Australian study - Feskanich, published in the American Journal of Public Health. FAX your request for these studies to: Dairy Education Board - 201-871-9304)
The Harvard Nurses Study - The worst news in dairy industry history
PCRM bases their ad campaign on the most complete and well-respected scientific study in American history; ongoing at Harvard University. Hundreds of publications in scientific journals have resulted from data gleaned from interviews and questionnaires completed by the study's participants. Diet records and health records are rigorously analyzed; obtained from 121,000+ female registered nurses in eleven states between the ages of 30 and 55. Nearly 78,000 nurses participated in the 12-year milk and bone fracture study.
The study found "no significant association" between teenaged milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. Data from the study indicate that frequent milk consumption and higher dietary calcium intakes in middle aged women do not provide protection against hip or forearm fractures.
In the Harvard study, women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods had significantly INCREASED risks of hip fractures, while no increase in fracture risk was observed for the same levels of calcium from nondairy sources.
The Austrian Study
Two hundred thousand hip fractures occur in America every year. The Journal of Epidemiology published a case-controlled study of risk factors for hip fractures in the elderly. This study concludes: "Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures." The Australian study provides the mechanism for such a high correlation. The authors explain that the metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium.
Nondairy Calcium Alternatives
Calcium is abundant in dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cooked dried beans, soy products, almonds, and sesame seeds. .
Calcium found in these and other plant foods is actually better absorbed than calcium in cow's milk. In a battle over milk's place on the new food pyramid, you have the government (USDA--given the dual and often conflicting role of protecting the nation's health and promoting its agricultural products) and the dairy industry on one side, and various physicians, nutritionists, and researchers on the other.
Dr. Walter C. Willett, professor and chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, has completed a study showing no evidence to support claims that milk and other calcium-rich foods significantly reduce osteoporosis-related bone fractures.
Dr Willett told the New York Times, "There's an ongoing campaign to get every adult to drink three glasses of milk a day." He continued, "That's obviously about increasing sales and profits." Regarding the same ad campaign, Willett told the Boston Globe, "If we do that, we'll increase saturated fat consumption in adults. That inevitably will increase heart attack rates." Large amounts of dairy products increase the amounts of fats, cholesterol, and artificial hormones fed to dairy cattle (to increase growth and milk production) taken into our bodies.
Patricia Bertron, RD, Neal D Barnard, MD, and Milton Mills, MD, give examples of alternative sources of calcium, "Many green vegetables have calcium absorption rates greater then 50% compared with about 32% for milk. a 1994 study reported calcium absorption of approximately 53% for broccoli, 64% for Brussels sprouts, 58% for mustard greens, and 52% for turnip greens."
They continue, "Beans and green leafy vegetables have nutritional advantages that differentiate them from dairy products. They are excellent sources of carotenoids and other antioxidants, complex carbohydrate, fiber, and iron. They contain no animal proteins or cholesterol, little or no saturated fat, and very little sodium unless it is added during cooking."
According to Michael Klaper, MD, "The human body has no more need for cows' milk that it does for dogs' milk, horses' milk, or giraffes' milk."
In September of 1998, the Dairy Education Board published a column containing a list of plant-based calcium alternatives. Human breast milk contains 33 milligrams of calcium per 100-gram portion. Baby humans do not grow up to become 1,200-pound cows.
Foods are naturally loaded with calcium. Cows do not drink milk to get their calcium. Their milk contains large amounts of calcium. They obtain calcium from eating grass or plant based foods. Their bones do not break
Vitamins and minerals are much better absorbed, utilized and retained by the body if they come from a natural
 food source as compared to an unnatural isolated chemical source. To give you an example, the only place you can find vitamin C is inside food such as an orange. As soon as vitamin C leaves the food, it becomes ascorbic acid and it is no longer vitamin C. The body is designed to digest food, not chemical nutrients.
In the edible portions of our natural foods, vitamins and minerals are always found in protein complexes. They are never found as isolated pure molecules and they are never found to be bonded to other chemicals. Vitamins and minerals which are present in food are contained within a complex composition of proteins + carbohydrates + lipids + enzymes + bioflavonoids + trace elements.
When it comes to nutrition, plants and humans differ: "a typical plant makes its own food from raw materials... A typical animal eats its food" [1]. For plants, these "raw materials" include soil-based mineral salts [2].
Plants, with the aid of enzymes and soil-based microorganisms (which sometimes are depleted in the soil through synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides [3,4]), can take in mineral salts (from soil) which they have an affinity for [4]. After various metabolic processes, when, these minerals no longer exist as mineral salts, they become complexed with various carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins present in the plant, as part of the living organism [5]. Thus for nutrition, humans eat plants (and/or animals which eat plants), whereas plants can obtain their nutrients from the soil [4]. This process is commonly referred to as the "food chain" [5].
Human breast milk contains 33 milligrams of calcium per 100-gram portion. This is the lowest. on the list. Potato chips with 40 milligrams is higher.
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Calcium content of foods (per 100-gram portion)
(100 grams equals around 3.5 ounces)
| 33 mg lowest 234 mg 267 mg 67 mg 51 mg 135 mg 99 mg 55 mg 70 mg 48 mg 36 mg 114 mg 49 mg 37 mg 38 mg 42 mg 88 mg 150 mg 250 mg 81 mg 187 mg 81 mg 81 mg 126 mg 209 mg 249 mg 187 mg 52 mg 35 mg 68 mg 684 mg 183 mg 138 mg 92 mg 61 mg 43 mg 203 mg 74 mg 56 mg 131 mg 40 mg 62 mg 78 mg 36 mg 1160 mg 40 mg 60 mg 85 mg 128 mg 93 mg 120 mg 40 mg 35 mg 246 mg 184 mg 151 mg 53 mg |
High concentrations of oxalic acid or phytate obstruct calcium absorption in spinach, rhubarb, and sweet potatoes, both from the vegetable itself and from other foods eaten at the same time. The sesame seeds must be grounded or pulverized.for calcium to be absorbed. Wheatgrass contains all minerals for calcium consumption. Wheatgrass juice contains 15.04 mg calcium per oz
A PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH
Giving up all milk and dairy products is the most significant first step in reclaiming good health. An interesting and popular site for health conscious people is Chet's website http://www.chetday.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PCRM:
Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 404 Washington, DC 20016 202-686-2210 http://www.pcrm.org Calcium Absorption
Calcium can not be absorbed and utilized in our bodies without certain trace minerals, including magnesium and boron and also many others, also being present. The full complement of these trace minerals is not found in most calcium supplementation tablets and are lacking to a great degree in the typical American diet. These trace minerals are important not only to facilitate the absorption of calcium (as in magnesium) but they are also needed by the body as well for the millions of biochemical reactions that are taking place in the body every day.
COMPARISON OF CALCIUM ABSORPTION
There are two methods of comparing human absorption of minerals - by measuring areas of blood concentration-time curves and by measuring urine excretion. The concentration of calcium in the blood is hormonally controlled so the latter method is used. Protocol
Three different forms of calcium were utilised in this study - calcium carbonate, calcium gluconate and calcium yeast, an organic food. College age subjects (18-29) participated in the study with informed consent. Each subject refrained from dairy products during the course of the experiment. The subjects collected a 24 hour pre-dose urine and appeared for testing after an overnight fast. The subjects ingested 500 mg of Calcium, in one of three forms, dissolved in 200 ml of orange juice. (Pauling has shown that Vitamin C does not affect calcium excretion). The subjects fasted for an additional six hours and then were allowed to eat. A 24 hour post-dose urine was collected. The experiment (pre and post-dose urine collection) was repeated for the other forms. Results The results are shown in the table below. 24 hour Post Dose - Pre dose Calcium Urine excretion (mg)
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| Subject | Ca Carbonate | Ca Gluconate | Yeast |
| 1 | 7.9 | - | 83.1 |
| 2 | 39.6 | - | 114.9 |
| 3 | 0.4 | - | 157.3 |
| 4 | 0 | - | 36.8 |
| 5 | - | 57 | 96 |
| 6 | - | 49 | 104 |
| 7 | - | 31 | 92 |
| 8 | - | 5 | 160 |
Average ± Std. Dev. 12.0 ± 18.7 mg 35.5 ± 23.1 mg 105.5 ± 40.0 mg The statistical analysis using the student test and Mann-Whitney test showed that there was no significant difference between the calcium carbonate and calcium gluconate excretion. The Calcium yeast produced a significantly greater urine excretion (p less then 0.01 by statistical tests) than either the calcium carbonate or calcium gluconate. Calcium yeast was found to be more absorbed than either calcium carbonate or calcium gluconate.
Calcium absorption needs an acid environment in the stomach for proper digestion and people over 60 years of age produce only approximately 25% of the stomach acid they produced when they were 20 years old. In addition, it is a known fact that as many as 40 percent of postmenopausal women lack sufficient stomach acid for proper calcium absorption and that's without the intake of large volumes of alkaline calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.
Maintenance of a positive calcium balance by the body depends of dietary intake and the efficiency of absorption of the calcium ion from the intestinal tract. Calcium is one of the more difficult elements for the body to digest and absorb. Because calcium forms insoluble compounds with many of the anions present in food, efficient absorption of calcium is loaded with problems. In most instances the phosphate ion is the principal interfering anion. Of the Calcium phosphate complexes, only calcium dihydrogen phosphate is sufficiently soluble to maintain the necessary levels for efficient absorption of the ionic calcium. Unfortunately this salt is stable only in highly acid media, such as stomach acid. And in the alkaline area of the small intestine, the much less soluble mono-hydrogen phosphate of the highly insoluble tertiary phosphate is the stable form, and both of these forms cannot be fully absorbed by the body. In addition to this, once calcium has dissolved, its absorption into the body is totally dependent on the presence of vitamin D in the intestine. Vitamin D, unfortunately, is not present in most of our food, so our body is dependent on the action of sunlight on our skin to synthesis vitamin D. Without intestinal vitamin D being present, most of the ionized calcium will pass through the body unused.
Conditions in the stomach normally provide sufficient acid for the stable intake of the free calcium ion even in the presence of phosphate ions; but absorption cannot take place there. As the contents of the stomach (chyme) are discharged from the stomach and moves through the small intestine, it is neutralized by the alkaline bile. Calcium absorption takes place in the duodenum, but it is apparent that solubility considerations counteract to prevent this uptake, except during the relatively short period of time before the chyme is completely neutralized. Absorption in the remainder of the intestine is pretty much nonexistent, because the calcium by then has been precipitated from solution due to the alkalinity produced by the bile.
It is evident that high amounts of phosphorous in the diet (high red meat consumption, carbonated drinks, etc.) are unfavorable to efficient calcium absorption. Because of the common ion effect, excess phosphate will depress solubility of the soluble calcium dihydrogen phosphate stable at the stomach's normally acid pH level. Therapy involving use of strong bases such as antacids and H-2 blockers like Zantac, Tagamet, Pepcid, etc., decreases the efficiency of calcium absorption because of their alkalizing effects of the pH of the stomach. Tums or calcium carbonate, and alkaline sources of calcium, neutralize stomach acid needed for calcium absorption. Also, a diet with excess zinc may interfere with calcium absorption. Faulty fat digestion due to high fat intake or an inadequate bile secretion also interferes with calcium absorption through the precipitation of insoluble calcium soaps. Even some foods such as rhubarb, Swiss chard, spinach, beet greens, cocoa, soybeans, cashews, and kale contain a high oxilate content, which acts as a calcium absorption blocker by binding with calcium, producing insoluble salts as calcium oxilate which can not be absorbed. So even with high intake of foods containing calcium there are many things that can interfere with its absorption leading to a deficiency of usable calcium.
The following chart shows the average amount of calcium needed for specific age groups. These amounts have been established by nutritionists at Purdue University in 1997 and supersede the amounts considered as the required amounts established in 1941. Higher amounts up to 2,000 mg daily are recommended for pregnant and breast feeding mothers, girls between 11-20 years of age, people who are under high physical of mental stress, and of course anyone who has osteoporosis. Also, people who have muscle spasms or cramps or bone fractures will need more calcium. Please note that the following chart calls for absorbed calcium not calcium intake.
The Paradox of Coral Calcium
Many coral calcium vendors have tried to connect coral calcium to the longevity of Okinawans. The truth is most coral calcium supplements are made directly ("uncut") from coral reefs. The only calcium source found in coral reefs is calcium carbonate, the same calcium compound that is easily found in other rocks and limestone, and has been available for commercial use for decades.
Not all coral calcium is the same. Not even all coral calcium from Okinawa is the same! While any coral from Okinawa can give you some benefits because the chemical analysis is nearly identical to human bone. Calcium with essential trace minerals from the sea that synergistically aid the immediate utilization of ionic calcium by our body's, but there are some that contain harmful materials such as lead, mercury, arsenic and more.
The secret of long-life lies in the water of Okinawa, not the coral reefs that most coral calcium products are made from. Scientists have identified the organic calcium compounds in the Okinawa water that are responsible for the good health of Okinawans. They are highly soluble organic calcium compounds that comes from the algae that grows in porous coral.
The best thing would be to drink the water bottled from Okinawa. Other option would be clean the calcium from impurties and dissolve it into water. When placed into water, digestion is not required. The body will absorb minerals immediately upon entering the mouth and a majority of the minerals will be absorbed before it ever enters the lower stomach, therefore optimizing the alkaline effects. If a solid form like a pill is used, the body uses stomach acids with a pH of 2. and the acidity in the stomach will cancell out the alkalinity. If it is in the capsule or caplet form it will always damage the digestive process. Ionic calcium, on the other hand, needs no stomach acid to be absorbed and assimilated. Ionic calcium in water is the best form to use.
Ionic calcium (Ca++) is the only physiologically active form of this element. Bone, though considered primarily as the structural support for the soft tissues of the body, also serves as a storage deposit for ionic calcium. Its calcium is available to the body and is drawn upon to maintain normal blood calcium levels during periods of low calcium intake. The protein bound calcium of the blood probably serves as a secondary reservoir, becoming available locally only during excessive loss or use of ionic calcium. It is important to note that because ionic calcium is the only physiologically active form of this element, all sources of this mineral, whether through the diet or from the bones, must be broken down to its ionic form before it can be used by the body for any of the functions listed above.
Calcium is present in different forms. To evaluate the absorbable calcium of each product we need to know (a) what the amount of available calcium is, and (b) what is the biochemical absorption percentage for the compound in ideal conditions. Below, is a brief summary which addresses how much calcium is actually available to our bodies from commonly available calcium products.
A.) Calcium Carbonate {CaCO3} is known as Caltrate, Oyster Shell calcium, Tums, or generic. Total molecular weight of this compound is 100.09 mg. Calcium weighs 40.09 mg. So Calcium carbonate is 40% calcium. Scientists tell us that only 10% of the calcium is absorbed from the carbonate. So for every 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate 40% of 400 mg is calcium. Of this 400 mg 10% is absorbed, or only 40 mg of usable calcium.
B.) Tribasic Calcium Phosphate {Ca3(PO4)2} is known as Posture. Total molecular weight of this compound is 310.18 mg therefore calcium phosphate is 39% calcium. Scientists tell us that only 10% of the calcium is absorbed from this phosphate. So for every 1,000 mg of calcium phosphate 39% or 390 mg is calcium. Of this 390 mg, 10% is absorbed, or only 39 mg of usable calcium.
C.) Calcium Lactate {(CH3CH[OH]COO)2Ca}is commonly found in dairy products. Total molecular weight of this compound is 218.22 mg, therefore calcium lactate is 37% calcium. Scientists tell us that only 33% of the calcium is absorbed from the lactate. So for every 1,000 mg of calcium lactate 37% or 370 mg is calcium. Of this 370 mg 33% is absorbed, or only 105 mg of usable calcium.
D.) Calcium Citrate {Ca3(C6H3O7)2}is known as Citrical®. Total molecular weight of this compound is 572.72 mg, therefore calcium citrate is 21% calcium. Scientists tell us that 50% of the calcium is absorbed from the citrate. So for every1,000 mg of calcium citrate 21% or 210 mg is calcium. Of this 210 mg 50% is absorbed, or only 105 mg of usable calcium.
E.) Ionic Calcium {Ca++}. Total molecular weight of ionic calcium is 40.09 mg. So ionic calcium is 100% calcium. Scientists tell us that 98% of the ionic calcium is absorbed. So for every 1,000 mg of Coral Calcium, a unique organic calcium carbonate compound that dissipates calcium directly in its ionic form, 40% is ionic calcium or 400 mg of calcium. Of this 400 mg 98% is absorbed, or 392 mg of usable calcium.
It becomes obvious that consuming large amounts of calcium tablets to achieve the desired absorption can have serious negative results.
The products tested were; (1) Oscal™, containing biological oyster shell calcium; (2) Natural™, containing biological oyster shell calcium; (3) Bone Meal, composed of ground and powdered animal bone; (4) AdvaCal™, containing biological oyster shell calcium; (5) Calcet™, composed of equal parts of calcium carbonate, calcium lactate, and calcium gluconate; (6) Citracal™, composed of calcium citrate; (7) Mylanta™, containing calcium carbonate; (8) Rolaids™, containing calcium carbonate; (9) Maalox™ containing calcium carbonate; (10) Tums™, containing calcium carbonate; (11) Source Natural Coral Calcium™, (12) Coral Complex 2™, (13) Coraladvantage™, and (14) Ancient Wisdom™, (15) Alka-Line Coral Calcium™, (16) Alka-Line Coral Calcium Capsules containing biological, ionic calcium.
COMPARISON METHODS AND RESULTS
The tests were conducted using steam-distilled water containing crushed powders of each of the products. The pH results were obtained using standardized digital pH meters. High pH test numbers equate to a high level of alkalinity. Low pH results equate to a high level of acidity. The pH scale advances at an exponential power of 10 for each level. Alka-Line Coral Calcium registered 500 times more alkaline than the next closest product.
Oxygen-reduction results were obtained using a standard Oxygen Reduction Potential meter (ORP). The degree of negativity of an ORP reading is an indicator of how bioavailable and bioabsorbable a product will be. The more negative the test reading, the more ions are available for body metabolic functions and for the destruction of free radicals. Alka-Line Coral Calcium was the only product to register strong minus readings on the ORP meter.
Electrical conductivity measurements were tested in ohms using an OHM meter. An ohm is a unit of electrical measurement which demonstrates the amount of electrical resistance of a substance. The lower the ohm reading, the easier it is for electrical impulses to be conducted through the tissues and fluids of the body. The less electrical resistance there is the more efficiently the metabolic process progresses. This relates to ionic polarization, the osmotic gradient, and the availability of positive and negative ions within the cell membranes.
A typical ohm reading for human tissue is approximately 500 ohms. After drinking water containing 1 gram (gm) of Alka-Line Coral Calcium the ohm measurement of human test subjects dropped from 500 ohms to 40 ohms. When 1 gm of the other sample products was added to water and then consumed, there was not an appreciable difference in the ohm reading of test subjects.
Live blood cell screening, using a phase contrast, Darkfield microscope, visually shows the level of acidity present in blood serum. High acidity results in high erythrocyte Rouleau (the sticking together of red blood cells and corresponding low oxygen carrying ability). High alkalinity creates low erythrocyte Rouleau (erythrocytes are single, not sticking together, and results in the blood having a high oxygen carrying ability). The blood serum of all tests subjects initially showed no Rouleau as viewed through the Darkfield microscope. Therefore, the blood serum of all test subjects was alkaline in nature at the onset. A cola was then given to the test subjects to acidify their blood serum.
Product samples were randomly given to the test subjects to see if the sample would restore the subject's blood serum to the "no Rouleau", alkaline condition. Identical comparison tests were conducted over a five-day period. The higher the pH reading advances in alkalinity, the less amount of erythrocyte Rouleau present. Alka-Line Coral Calcium was the only product that returned the blood serum of the test subjects from a highly acidic, high blood Rouleau condition to a highly alkaline, no blood Rouleau condition.
PRODUCT CORRELATION
There was a high correlation between the pH level of the sample products and the amount of erythrocyte Rouleau. There was less correlation between the ORP readings and electrical conductivity between the products. However, the Alka-Line Coral Calcium did register the lowest electrical resistance (ohm) score and only the Coral Calcium products gave readings on the negative side of the ORP meter. However, Alka-Line Coral Calcium was the only product that showed positive biological function results in all four of the test areas.
The wide range of variability displayed by the testing results seems to be linked with the bioavailability and bioabsorbability of the type of calcium being ingested. Calcium minerals, in their elemental state, are normally only 8 to 40% biologically available to animals and humans. After reaching the age of 35 to 40, the availability of minerals to humans drops to 3 to 5%. Older people may not produce enough digestive acid to put calcium, magnesium, and potassium into ionic suspension. When you use the non-biologically active forms you put these people at risk as the minerals will neutralize the stomach acid and damage the digestive process. This makes the ionic form the only logical choice for the older people, and really the only logical choice for anyone who wants to be healthy.
It is important to look at not only the absorption of minerals, but also the actual mineral element content. Calcium lactate is an example of a typical calcium supplement. But calcium lactate isn't calcium. It's calcium and lactate. A 1,000 mg tablet of calcium lactate will chemically break down to 860 mg of milk sugar or lactose and 140 mg (or 14%) of elemental calcium. So it is mostly lactate. The 140 mg of elemental calcium from the calcium lactate must them undergo digestion in order to become ionized calcium. The end result is that only 10% of the original elemental calcium ingested is ionized and becomes bioavailable to the human body. This means that after the 140 mg of elemental calcium from calcium lactate completes the digestive process you will end up with 10% of the original 140 mg, or 14 mg of biological ionic calcium available for metabolic use. Different types of calcium provide different percentages of elemental calcium. For example, calcium carbonate provides 40% elemental calcium with only 10% of that ionized, while calcium gluconate supplies 9% elemental calcium with only 10% of that ionized.
It is important for calcium to be consumed in healthy amounts. Although, just because it is consumed it does not always end up being fully absorbed by the body. Usually, between 10 to 40% of dietary elemental calcium intake is absorbed. However, women after menopause may only absorb 7%. All dietary calcium must be made soluble (ionized) in the stomach and then pass to the small intestine where it combines with a calcium binding molecule so it can be absorbed (chelated). Because calcium competes with zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper, and iron for absorption in the intestine, a high intake of one mineral can reduce the absorption of others. The end result is that although calcium is the most important mineral to the body, it is often the hardest of all the minerals to absorb.
Alka-Line Coral Calcium is an ionic, biological form derived from pure Sango coral of Okinawa. It is guaranteed to be pure from pollutants. It is already in the ionic form, therefore it is 100% bioavailable and does not have to undergo the digestive, ionizing process to which the other calcium and some coral calcium supplements must be subjected. This makes it superior to all other forms.
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