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THE RIGHT CALCIUM
Questions and Answers
This is a very big question and it is very important to answer, because I know you may have never realized how your body could be so dependent on one specific mineral to maintain its physical function. Here are some facts that will help you answer this question.
- Calcium is required by your physical body‘s daily function, in weight and volume, more than any other mineral. This fact is even made more significant, because this mineral is so lacking in the majority of foods being consumed today and this is a direct reflection on poor farming practices, which do not address the nutritional needs of the human and animal consumers.
- Calcium determines how other minerals are picked up by the cell. More specifically, when calcium is deficient in a cell, other minerals, including toxic trace minerals, can enter the cell in excessive amounts.
- When the body does not have enough over-all calcium available from the digestion, calcium can appear in excess amounts in some areas of the body. Because calcium is in such great demand by the body's systems, the minute the incoming calcium drops below your body’s daily needs, your body will withdraw calcium from its calcium reserves, primarily stored, in your bones and teeth. This is OK for short intermittent periods of time, but not for prolonged periods. Over prolonged periods, this process will cause calcium reserves to drop too low and will subsequently alter your body‘s ability to control the pH (acid/base relationship) of the fluids that bathe your cells. The end result is that your body becomes unable to control when, where and how much of the mobilized calcium moves into some areas. This can make it appear that your body has too much calcium, when in reality any appearance of calcium excess is acually caused by calcium deficiency.
- Calcium is the only element that has the superior ability to bring in the most nutrient into the cell, because it can bind and bunch-up long proteins better than any other mineral required in the cell.
- Calcium is responsible for the density, color and function of the cell. A change in calcium can mean a change in the density and thus a corresponding change in the function and color of the cell. Have you ver wondered why you see such changes in your skin color when you have felt quite ill?
- Calcium is far more mobile and binds ten thousand times faster and stronger to ligands (biologically important coordination compounds) than does magnesium.
- Calcium takes the least amount of electrical-charging (ionization) to move through cell membranes, therefore, it delivers more energy to the cell than any other single mineral.
- Calcium is the most efficient pH buffer (acid base regulator) for extracellular fluid. This is particularly important to allow the proper building of DNA in the frequency needed by your body.
- Calcium is vital to the release of mineral energy during digestion. The less calcium available during digestion the less overall energy will be released during digestion.
Can you tell me what other scientists are saying about calcium?
From the very moment of conception, calcium plays a pivotal role in fetal development. It rushes in as a wave around the egg to herald the sperm‘s arrival, binding to proteins that help kick off the whole development process. From this first influx, calcium continues to play a critical role in how the body’s cells respond to outside signals. Calcium tells muscle to contract and nerves to release neurotransmitters, and is at least part of the signal that helps people form and retain memories. Calcium‘s role comes full circle with its involvement in cell death. Adams, Amy, “Untangling Neuronal Calcium Signaling,” The Scientist, January 21, 2001
Low calcium intake linked to risk of ischemic stroke in women. Iso, H., Stempfer, M. J., Manson, J. E., et al, “Prospective study of calcium, potassium, and magnesium intake and risk of stroke in women,” Stroke 1999; 30 (Sept.):1772-9.
…a large number of recent studies have identified a relationship between childhood calcium intake and bone mineralization and the potential relationship of these data to fractures in adolescents and the development of osteoporosis in adulthood. Preboth, Monica, “Calcium Needs of Infants, Children and Adolescents,” American Family Physician, July 15, 2000.
Patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria (excess calcium in urine) and calcium oxalate stones are less likely to develop another stone if they adhere to a normal calcium diet that’s low in animal protein and salt when compared to patients who consume the traditional low-calcium regimen. Borghl, L., Schianchi T., Meschl T., et al.
“Comparison of two diets for the prevention of recurrent stones in Idiopathic hypercalciuria,” N Engl J Med, 2002; 346:77-84
Reported research has shown conclusively that high calcium diets reduce the risk of developing kidney stones contrary to what has been believed. N Engl J Med, January 10, 2004
Calcium has been recognized as a major regulatory ion in all living organisms. Considering the wide variety of calcium-binding proteins, in the cell, the potential targets of calcium-related disorders are enormous. General interest in calcium-binding proteins is still in the logarithmic phase with daily discoveries of these proteins. Thompson, Marvin P., Calcium Binding Proteins, CRC Press 1988., “History of Calcium-Binding Proteins.”
Calcium must certainly be the major bioelement of the times. Only a generation ago the calcium ion was known to physiologists and biochemists as a component of bone mineral and as a blood plasma constituent required in heart function and blood coagulation, but little more. But, in the 1970‘s, a crescendo of calcium ion research developed. Today we know dozens, if not hundreds, of different cellular and extracellular processes that are regulated by the changes in cytosolic or extracellular calcium ions. Indeed, the calcium ion is emerging as a most important and ubiquitous intracellular messenger. (Excerpt from Forward by Albert L. Lehninger, Professor of Medical Science, John Hopkins University.)
As we have seen, calcium is central to the ordered progression of replicating cells through their growth-division cycle. Neoplastic epithelia and mesenchymally derived cells can initiate DNA syntheses and proliferate normally in a low calcium medium, which does not support the proliferation of their normal counterparts. Besides needing calcium ions, normal cells must adequately spread out on a solid substrate before they are able to initiate DNA syntheses. Calcium is specifically required for spreading. Lowering the extracellular calcium and preventing spreading both block the initiation of DNA synthesis, without stopping on-going DNA synthesis. The elimination of extracellular calcium requirement for proliferation of viruses can be mimicked by exposing proliferatively inactive calcium-deprived normal cells to calcium-independent-nucleotides protein kinases located in the plasma membrane. Thus, addition of such subunits to the medium of normal cells cause them to behave like neoplastic cells by initiating DNA syntheses in calcium deficient medium. It is clear that the proliferative calcium independence in vitro is a universal property of neoplastic cells, the understanding of which may be the key to understanding cancer. (see page 158) The Role of Calcium in Biological Systems, Volume I, CRC Press Inc. 1985
A number of important metabolic processes are influenced by small changes in extracellular ionized calcium concentration. These include: (a) the excitability of nerve function and neural transmission; (b) the secretion by cells of proteins and hormones, and other mediators such as neurotransmitters; (c) the coupling of cell excitation with cell response (for example, contraction in the case of muscle cells and secretion in the case of secretory cells); (d) cell proliferation; (e) blood coagulation, by acting as a cofactor for the essential enzymes involved in the clotting cascade; (f) maintenance of the stability and permeability of cell members; (g) modulation of enzyme activity, in particular those enzymes involved in glycogenolysis (the splitting up of glycogen, the chief carbohydrate storage material in man), gluconeogenesis (the formation of carbohydrates from protein and fats), and protein kinases (enzymes that catalyze energy transfer from ATP to proteins) which are calcium dependent; and (h) the mineralization of newly formed bone-Mundy, Gregory R., “Calcium Homeostasis: Hypercalcemia and Hypocalcemia,” University of Texas. (Professor and Head, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism)
At all ages, females consume less calcium than do males. Pediatrics, Oct, 2001.
Calcium helps keep the weight off. Research suggests that if you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, you‘re likely to be overweight. The reason has to do with your body’s response to a calcium deficit. When you‘re low, your body thinks you’re starving and enters emergency mode, releasing parathyroid hormone. This hormone stimulates your bones to release some calcium into your bloodstream. In addition, your kidneys also deliver a dose of hormone called calcitriol, a form of vitamin D, to increase your ability to absorb calcium. The trouble is that parathyroid hormone and calcitriol also stimulate the production of fat and inhibit its breakdown. As a result, your body stores fat and holds on to it stubbornly, even if you‘re on a low-calorie diet. On the other hand, a high calcium intake suppresses these hormones so your body stores less fat and also breaks it down easily. This is according to Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., head of the department of nutrition at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Ott, C., “The Surprising Benefits of Calcium,” Natural Health, Jan-Feb, 2002
What is the ideal source of calcium?
The most ideal source of calcium should be our food supply. However, our food today is grossly lacking in mineral, especially calcium, because of the poor farming practices. Back in the mid 80’s one research group sampled over 400 plants from farms across Midwestern America. It found that mineral levels, in the plants had dropped between 8% and 68%. Because of soil mineral depletion and few farmers being aware of how to grow top quality food, calcium supplements are a necessity to supply the calcium actually needed.
To learn how to grow top quality produce at home you need to obtain a copy of Dr. Beddoe's book Nourishment Home Grown.
Aren‘t organically grown foods a good source of calcium?
Unfortunately, purchasing “organically grown” foods does not assure sufficient calcium in your diet either. Don’t get me wrong. I am not against organic foods. However, what is not being addressed by organic growers is the quality of the food they are growing—especially the calcium content. Organic principles of growing are great as far as they have come. The problem is that they have not come far enough. In other words, organic growers are growing clean foods, free of toxic chemicals, but they fall very short when it comes to total mineral quality—80 percent of the missing mineral is calcium. Yes, this is a very serious problem because the most toxic foods are not the ones contaminated with herbicides and pesticides. In reality, the most toxic foods are those that are grown on calcium deficient soil and passed off, to an ignorant public, as clean fresh healthy nutrient rich food. Toxic, because these mineral-energy deficient foods contribute to the perpetuation of the rampant degenerative disease process.
That is why this author has seen fit to spend his time in both soil mineral chemistry and human mineral chemistry, to reveal, not only the need for calcium and mineral colloids, but to show how the farmer and gardener, growing foods on soils rich in calcium and other minerals properly regulated, will have a greater effect on health in the world than all of the medical personnel and sick care institutions put together. Dr. Beddoe's garden book Nourishment Home Grown, holds the keys to showing you how to grow nutrient rich foods.
What is the best calcium supplement if the food is deficient?
The best calcium supplement for you depends on what is happening to the pH (acid / base) chemistry of your body's fluids. Evaluating the pH of your urine and saliva is the most direct way to know what is happening with the acid base chemistry of your body's fluids. By determining the average pH of your urine and saliva, you will be able to choose the right calcium supplements, as well as other minerals and vitamins that can assist those calcium supplements in working most efficiently. The Calcium Kit, developed by Dr. Beddoe, is the ideal way to reveal, in a do-it-youself format, exactly what type(s) of calcium supplements your body's chemistry is requiring. In addition, The Calcium Kit reveals what other important vitamins and minerals are vital to work alongside with the calcium(s).
Is magnesium important to take with calcium?
Contrary to what the natural health world teaches, magnesium is not necessary to be a part of calcium supplementation. Magnesium is a very stable element in body chemistry compared to calcium. The best source for magnesium in the diet is any green leafy vegetable. Yes, chlorophyll is a fantastic natural source for magnesium. In a diet that includes sufficient greens, there will be no lack of magnesium.
Yet why does there seem to be so many people who are benefited by magnesium supplements of verious types? Well, it has to do with the excessive protein in the modern diet. Excessive protein in the diet produces an excess of a protein breakdown product known as nitrogen. Nitrogen in the body's chemistry comes from two primary sources. The first is from the wear and tear and breakdown of body tissue protein, which is exagerated by poor health and body chemistry. The second is from excess protein consumption and correspondingly poor protein digestion. Poorly and improperly digested proteins drive up the levels of nitrogen in the blood to excessive amounts. When nitrogen becomes excess, it causes the blood to get thicker. Thicker blood makes the heart work harder, besides being a major contributer to fatique. This excess nitrogen in body chemistry increases the demand for magnesium. Yes, magnesium has a strong affinity for nitrogen. So when nitrogen is excessive, there is a drain on magnesium. In fact, magnesium is an excellant way to deal with the symptoms caused by excess nitrogen from excess and poorly digested proteins in the diet. So people who need, or appear to need, more magnesium, most likely have a problem with excess nitrogen going on.
By the way, excess protein in the diet causes the body to dump calcium. Therefore, excess protein in a diet is making the calcium deficiency problem even more pronounced. Furthermore, when calcium intake is proper, less protein is necessary in the diet.
Yes, calcium is the key mineral in your body's chemistry, bar none.
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