Making Bones

Greetings!

After 2 1/2 years and nearly 300 posts, I'm starting MyHealthBytes out with a new format and new look!

Let me know what you think... :)

Here's a head-scratcher for almost all of us at one time or another: Calcium.

Am I getting too much? Not enough?

I used to think I got a lot of calcium from the food I eat - then I found out - it wasn't true! Calcium in milk is bound by the pasteurization process. In other words - what's done to milk that makes it safe to drink makes it NOT a good source of calcium. Same with processed cheeses.

Bummer!

There are also lots of foods that don't normally contain much or any calcium that the thoughtful food industry has added calcium to - like orange juice. HUH?

If you're a pre-menopausal woman age 25 to 50, you need to supplement your calcium intake with about 1,000 mg./day. For men 25 to 65, the same. Post-menopausal women need more - about 1,200 - 1,500/day. Here's the kicker: Calcium alone in NOT ENOUGH. To actually abosorb calcium into your bones, you need a supplement that provides the 'mortar' for the 'bricks' (calcium). Your supplement needs to also contain vitamin D, magnesium, and a little zinc, copper, manganese & boron.

So don't count on an ant-acid to supply you with adequate dietary calcium. And if your doc told you to use one for your calcium supplement, your doctor is a knucklehead. (Guess what? They don't teach nutrition in medical school, except as an elective, unless they went to UNC in the last 15 years.)

BTW - kids need calcium too. About 800 - 1,200 mg./day, with the supporting nutrients for absorption. And contrary to popular opinion, calcium does not cause kidney stones and/or bone spurs. Actually, a lack of adequate dietary calcium is the culprit. The body has this cool thing it does to maintain your heart rhythm, cellular integrity & other stuff it uses calcium for: It will pull calcium out of your bones to put it into your blood stream, and the resulting oxylates can settle in joints causing bone spurs, or result in kidney stones.

Take Home Message for wanting an adequate calcium intake:

• Helps retain normal blood pressure


• Helps prevent osteroporosis


• Helps reduce PMS symptoms like bloating, water retention, cramps, irritability, & mood swings.

If you're using a calcium supplement, drop one in ordinary tap water. It should dissolve completely without being shaken or stirred, in 30 minutes or less. That's the pharmaceutical industry standard for dissolution for uncoated tablets. If it doesn't, you can be sure it's not dissolving in your body either. And - you cannot get 1,000 mg. or even 500 mg of calcium into a single tablet. If the tablet has been pressed hard enough to contain that much, you can bet it will never dissolve! And - check the label; does it have those supporting nutrients in the formula?

Some people swear that adequate calcium also helps prevent cravings. I don't know about the scicnce behind that, but hey - it wouldn't hurt to try. Right?

Have a good one!

Nancy