If you pay attention to the various misleading ads in the media, you are probably aware that calcium is not only important to health, but it’s critical to women to avoid osteoporosis as they age. Playing on fear about health is one way to sell things. There’s a little truth in those ads, but not much, as the whole truth doesn’t sell the product. Let’s look at the whole story.

In order to change calcium from blood calcium into bone calcium takes a complex chemical change requiring several chemical catalysts in lots of steps. In the body, these chemical catalysts are actually enzymes, and each of these steps requires a particular enzyme to do this job. Enzymes are basically protein – differing combinations of amino acids – along with a vitamin or a mineral as well.

This means that if you are short in any vitamin or mineral or particular amino acid required for this complex process, at any step in the process, it may not happen. Thus, you don’t just need lots of calcium, but you also have to have every vitamin and mineral needed at each step in this complex process. And, to complicate it further, your ability to digest foods changes as you age.

One of the most used minerals in enzyme making is magnesium, and it is also used in the body to “balance” the calcium. The ideal balance is about 2/1, and that’s what most nutritionists recommend as a supplement. (I used to do the same.) Calcium and magnesium also make
up the “battery” the powers the heart, and these two minerals are ones required in the largest amounts of all.

Surprisingly enough, most people in our culture of milk, cheese, and ice cream etc get plenty of calcium. It’s rare for a real calcium deficiency in an individual, although it certainly is possible. What is much more probable is that a magnesium deficiency is present, and the top priority (triage in doctorese) of the body is keeping the heart beating, along with all the other enzymes necessary that need magnesium (over 6000 at last count) . Making bone just isn’t that high on the priority scale.

A common result is that we wind up with much more calcium than magnesium for good balance. So, what happens to the excess calcium?

1. The body tries to take it out the kidney/urine pathway, but without enough vitamin C to make it water soluble, it might cause kidney stones. (There’s absolutely no truth to the idea that too much vitamin C causes kidney stones. The opposite is actually true.)

2. Excess calcium may be deposited in bone spurs or cysts in various spots on the skeleton. Arthritis and back problems are often to due to this.

3. It can also be deposited in lungs, breasts and other various body tissues, causing calcareous spots on x-rays in these areas. Sarcoidosis is a possible lung problem.

4. Calcium is the “backbone” of plaque found in blood vessels, and on teeth. Remove excess calcium and these problems lessen. Another way that vitamin C helps health.

Where is magnesium found, and why do we not get enough? One of the prime sources of magnesium is green vegetables. I hate them, from early childhood, and as a result, I have been plagued with bone spurs, cysts, and back problems. (They taste extremely bitter to me for no good reason). Vegetables are excellent for health in three ways – fiber, magnesium and folic acid.

Much of the water in the world flows thru limestone (dolomite) which is mostly composed of a 2/1 mix of calcium and magnesium. This makes the local water in many areas “hard”, because the soft dolomite is dissolved into the water as calcium and magnesium carbonate. Many local water systems are so loaded with this “hard” water that they have to use an ion exchange system to wash clothes. (Along with various other minerals found locally – but that’s another issue).

By the way, drinking “hard” water is actually better for you. The ion exchange method of “softening” water exchanges sodium ions for the calcium and magnesium ions. This adds sodium to the water, usually not very good for persons with heart problems.)

So, a BALANCE between magnesium and calcium is required. How can you, as an individual different in many ways than anyone else, obtain that balance?

1. Make sure you take sufficient vitamin C to help get rid of excess calcium. I recommend and take 4 grams per day (4000 mg) in two doses 2 grams in AM, and 2 in PM.

2. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables, and take a good vitamin/mineral supplement. (Better than those cheap once daily types.)

3. This is a bit tricky – How much milk product do you consume every day? These only have calcium so you have to supplement with magnesium to keep the balance. A hair mineral analysis (not very accurate, but it will show balance) may help.

There are a few useful symptoms that may help:

1. Do you have bone spurs, kidney stones, calcareous cysts or spots, etc? If so, you have or have had excess calcium. More vitamin C will gradually take this out.

2. How about cramps? They are a very useful symptom of either a shortage of calcium or magnesium. You have to decide which. Look at your recent diet for few days or weeks.

3. How fast are your hair and your fingernails growing? Hair and fingernails are pretty good indicators for most people. It is an often overlooked excretion route, and both use calcium. If very fast, perhaps you have too much calcium. If very slow, perhaps too little.

YOUR nutrition needs are somewhat different from everyone else. You uptake vitamins and minerals at least somewhat differently, even from those in your immediate family. This idea of INDIVIDUALITY is very important and needs to be more fully understood.

Very few enlightened persons in our culture get enough Vitamin C. The RDA is a joke, and while 75 mg will prevent outright scurvy, it just isn’t enough for good health in this polluted world. (By the way, the zoo vets know that a 150 lb ape requires a minimum of 4000 mg (4 grams) of Vitamin C per day, and our body requirements are exactly the same.)

Oh, also by the way, don’t fall for the hype in the health food stores. Any source of calcium or magnesium works. The cheapest forms work almost as well as the most expensive. (Another myth, dolomite does NOT contain lead, and if you want a 2/1 mix, it works well.)

For more free info on vitamin/mineral requirements and recommendations, go
to: http://www.alternate-health.com/vitmin.html. Good luck and better
health.

By: Phil Bate PhD

Many kinds of calcium supplements are available on the market now. Their effectiveness depends on how your body responds to the ingredients found in them. Soft chewable calcium tablets have been found to be very beneficial for people of all ages including children under the age of 10.

These tablets come in many shapes and sizes. Artificial flavor is also added to them to make them easier to chew and swallow. As the name suggests, these tablets are soft and can be consumed after meals as a sweet treat.

Normally, calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are used to manufacture calcium supplements. Liquid supplements are also available on the market and they are ideal to be used by elderly people. In addition to an effective calcium salt, soft chewable calcium tablets also contain certain vitamins and minerals important for proper absorption of calcium.

Magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin D and vitamin K2 are some of the nutrients used in making soft chewable calcium tablets. These nutrients provide some of their own benefits as well in terms of long-term health and well-being. They are required by the body to perform many functions and activities including proper blood circulation, absorption of other nutrients and proper digestion of food.

In addition to calcium tablets, multi-vitamin supplements should also be consumed on a regular basis. Most of us are nutrient deficient without even being aware of this alarming fact. This is because we don’t get to eat balanced diets anymore due to our busy routines. Nutrient deficiency in the body and especially calcium and magnesium deficiency is very dangerous for long-term health.

Many degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, colon cancer and Parkinson’s disease occur as a result of calcium deficiency in the body. These diseases progressively make concerned organs weaker and weaker and a time comes when they become incurable.

Women above the age of 40 are at high risk of developing bone disease in old age. They are strongly advised to increase their calcium intake through calcium supplements and soft chewable calcium tablets. Normally 1000 – 1500 mg of calcium is required by the human body daily depending on its age and overall health.

You can refer to an RDA chart for calcium to determine how much calcium you should be consuming on a daily basis. Try to eat a balanced diet, exercise frequently and don’t sit idle for long durations of time. In addition to these, add good-quality calcium supplements to your diet and avoid tobacco, caffeine, soft drinks and too much sugar.

By: John Gibb

Why should you take calcium magnesium supplements? The answer is that maintaining good physical health involves a number of factors, one of which is a biochemical balancing act. The human body requires numerous minerals in the proper amounts in order to function properly. Sodium and potassium are two of these; too much of the former can result in hypertension, while two little can cripple the electrochemical processes that allow our cells to live. Likewise, calcium magnesium supplements are important to the proper functioning of bone and muscle function.

About Calcium

As you are probably aware, calcium is the mineral that makes up most of our bone structure. What you may not know is that the calcium in our bones is also used for many other bodily functions, such as regulating the circulatory system. Calcium is the most abundant element in the human body, and all but 1% of it is stored in our bones.

As we get older, our need for calcium increases. If the body does not receive sufficient calcium from food sources, it will start to leech calcium out of our bones. This is especially true in the case of older women, whose bones are prone to becoming brittle for want of calcium. This condition is known as osteoporosis (literally, “holes in the bone”).

About Magnesium

In its natural state, magnesium is a hard, silvery-white metal. In the body, this element is necessary for healthy cell function and reproduction, as it acts as a catalyst in the synthesis of DNA. Most importantly however, it allows our bodies to metabolize calcium; without sufficient magnesium, our bodies cannot absorb or make use of calcium as well as ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

Magnesium deficiency is also responsible for kidney stones, muscular spasms as well as overall nervousness and impaired brain function.

Do You Need calcium magnesium supplements?

If you are not getting sufficient magnesium or calcium from the food you eat (and admittedly, this can be a challenge as we get older), nutrition supplements such as a womens multi vitamin may be helpful in osteoporosis prevention and other maladies.

By the time we pass age 50, all of us should be taking in at least 1200 milligrams of calcium each day. Dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt are the most common sources of calcium, however soy-based foods and leafy vegetables such as turnip greens and mustard greens are excellent alternatives.

If for some reason you cannot ingest enough calcium from food sources however, you should definitely take calcium magnesium supplements to make up the deficiency. If you can determine how much calcium you are getting from your food, it’s relatively easy to figure out which calcium magnesium supplements provide the correct amounts for you.

By: Anne Harvester