Guest guest Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Milk & Calcium Toxicity http://coldcure.com/html/dep.html#milk The third dietary cause of inadequate intracellular magnesium is competition by calcium. This is one very obvious cause, particularly to people who have gone off their ridiculous calcium supplements and dairy products diet and gotten much better in just a day or two. To those people that refuse to eliminate calcium supplementation (perhaps due to previous advice from a physician), I offer my condolences and hope that you have a good long-term health care insurance policy. People ask me if I worry about not getting enough calcium by " over " emphasizing magnesium. People seem to want to supplement their already calcium-rich, dairy product laden diets with calcium too, not magnesium. Some people are actually afraid to stop drinking milk, even though they are toxic from drinking too much of it and supplementing with calcium to theoretically " prevent osteoporosis " . Why? The dairy industry has used " osteoporosis prevention " as a marketing tool for calcium. However, milk and calcium supplements do not seem to be the correct answer. In countries where dairy products are commonly consumed, there are actually more hip fractures than in other countries. When put to the test, most studies show that dairy products and calcium supplements have little effect on osteoporosis. As surprising as that may be, when researchers have measured bone loss in postmenopausal women, most have found that calcium intake has little effect on the bone density of the spine. There is also little or no effect on bone at the hip, where serious breaks can occur. Some studies have found a small effect from calcium intake on bone density in the forearm. The overall message seems to be that, as long as one is not grossly deficient in calcium, calcium supplements and dairy products do not have much beneficial effect. Science magazine (August 1, 1996) noted: " ...the large body of evidence indicating no relationship between calcium intake and bone density. " Why not? For one thing, hormones very carefully regulate the amount of calcium in bones. Other studies have shown that increasing magnesium intake increases bone absorption of calcium. Why? The balance of calcium and magnesium must be maintained, and since there is plenty of calcium in our diets, bone density increases from extra magnesium is an automatic reaction. On the other hand, simply increasing calcium intake does not fool these hormones into building more bone, any more than delivering an extra load of bricks will convince a construction crew to build a larger building. Psychiatrists have known for many years that loss of hormonal control of calcium causes severe mental illnesses (dementias) including depression. Apparently, long term, stress with excessive calcium intake and limited magnesium intake can cause loss of hormonal control of calcium. What happens to people that go cold-turkey on dairy and calcium supplements? In the spring of 1998, I had a heel bone density test done using the new FDA approved Sahara ultrasound test for osteoporosis, which is made by the Hologic Company. The test cost me $20 and was totally painless, as are all ultrasounds. It was conducted by a respected local clinic, so what did I have to loose? My 1998 test result was taken when I was 58. I had a new test done in Spring of 2003. These are my test results for 1998 and 2003. My wife said I was (and still am) very hard headed, and these tests confirm her observations. Until I became depressed in 1999, I had been practicing the high- calcium-is-good-for-you-concept too. My bone density has fallen a bit, but my bone density is still 1 standard deviation higher than average. My heel bone density remains high, and T-Scores changed from +0.6 to +0.1 over the five years. These T-Scores are indicative of very low risk of bone breakage from osteoporosis. Obviously my bone density was not damaged by no-more- calcium-than-I- can-obtain from vegetables. Also, I drink de-ionized (essentially distilled) water without any mineral content, so that is not a source of hidden calcium. My mental health is much better with low calcium and I very much believe in very low calcium as a healthy way of living, but only if there is adequate magnesium. Please contact Hologic and find a local clinic that can do this test for you before you terminate calcium. Recheck each year. Calcium toxicity is something that even the National Dairy Council has a great concern, saying near the bottom of their page: " However, overuse of calcium-fortified foods, calcium supplements, or antacids containing calcium may increase risk of calcium toxicity, characterized by high blood levels of calcium, kidney damage, and calcification of soft tissues. " High blood levels of calcium are called hypercalcemia, which can cause: nausea, vomiting, alterations of mental status, abdominal or flank (kidney) pain, constipation, lethargy, depression, weakness and vague muscle/joint aches, polyuria, headache, coma (severe elevation) and death (particularly in the elderly who are more sensitive to excess calcium). Kidney damage includes kidney stones. Do you really want to have " calcified soft tissues " ? They include calcified arteries (hardening of the arteries), calcified heart valves (mitral valve prolapse), and calcified tendons. As we age, calcium also accumulates in the soft tissues of the body. When calcium deposits in dead tissue, it is called dystrophic calcium (like atherosclerotic plaques). When excess calcium becomes deposited in living tissue, it is called metastatic calcium (like arteriosclerosis). Heart attacks and death often result from excess accumulations of calcium in these conditions but do not occur from excess magnesium, which appears highly protective. When calcium gets into cells, the cells turn on, whatever " on " is for those cells. In the case of stress-induced depression and related mental disorders, the cells are the neurosynaptic cells of the brain discussed in depth here. When calcium enters a muscle cell, the muscle *contracts*. If excessive calcium stays there, the muscle stays *contracted* and results in 'severe pain'. The familiar knots in our upper backs and necks are just such *calcified* muscles that are stuck in the " on " or contracted position. The pathological version of this condition is called *fibromyalgia* where there are many such knotted muscles. The extreme example of this is *rigor mortis* (as in death), in which all the muscles of the body are flooded with calcium and contract - permanently. As we age, we accumulate more and more dystrophic and metastatic calcium, and become stiffer and stiffer. The solution, balance excess calcium with excess magnesium, or simply don't indulge in the Calcium-At-Any-Cost campaign! Feel like you have been lied to? Yes? You are right. Interestingly, physicians now,(finally) report that low blood calcium can be caused by underactive parathyroid glands, low calcium in the diet, severe burns or infections, pancreatitis, kidney failure, or low blood magnesium. Which of these six possible ways to develop low blood calcium is most likely to be cause of low calcium in the Western diet? Anybody remember magnesium fortification or magnesium promotions by any company? Any danger here? No. How about calcium promotions and advertisements? Aren't they everywhere? Yes! Given this apparent intent to poison Americans with calcium, why would anyone be concerned at this juncture about overdoing magnesium? Is this Al Qaeda's secret weapon for killing Americans? NO! We invented this one all by ourselves, probably thanks to the NIH's unbalanced consensus statement on calcium (a monograph absent balance with magnesium). Nothing that I am saying should be construed to mean anything more than we must feed ourselves in a way that keeps our magnesium and calcium balance correct, or, in many of our cases, reestablish a proper, healthy calcium magnesium balance, nearly always by reducing calcium overloads and increasing magnesium. If we don't want to balance our calcium and magnesium ratios using supplemental magnesium and a low calcium diet, we can always allow psychiatrists to do it with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). All of these effects are exaggerated in space flight, and pose serious problems of heart attacks during flight and post flight. In addition to the previously described ischemic mechanisms which may lead to calcium overload of the *myocardium* and the *arterial wall*, and potentially leading to a myocardial infarction (heart attack), other conditions complicating space flights, can precipitate calcium overload with cell necrosis, i.e. catecholamine elevations, insulin resistance and magnesium ion loss and deficiency. A major effort is in place to maintain magnesium serum levels during space flight, because loss of magnesium during space flight is found to be a limiting factor on space flight duration. The loss of magnesium is much greater in men and current interest in women in space flight is stimulated by their lower losses of magnesium. Candida albicans yeast is a serious problem in space flight because it depletes acidophilus bacteria and would greatly reduce magnesium absorption. One might hypothesize that female astronauts are strongly interested in preventing vaginal yeast infections in space flights and that they use acidophilus, a major promoter of magnesium absorption prophylactically, thus explaining these differences. Scientists and physicians will want to read this ten-page report titled " Calcium and Magnesium Deposits in Disease " , by Mildred S. Seelig, MD, MPH of the American College of Nutrition, a world-class expert on magnesium. This article points out that most abnormal *mineral deposits* are " calcareous " occurring in areas of tissue damage that can be caused by magnesium deficiency. Topics covered: Mineralization of arteries and heart by calcium excess, magnesium deficiency. Atherogenic and/or calcemic diets. Low magnesium and spontaneous myocardial infarction. High vitamin-D and/or phosphate diet intensifies magnesium deficiency. Stress and catecholamines. Mitochondrial lesions of ischemic hearts resemble those of magnesium deficiency. Diabetes increases *myocardial calcium* (Ca) 400 times normal. Mineralization by 'calcium' of human *arteriosclerotic* arteries with aging due to lifelong magnesium deficiency. Infantile and juvenile cardiovascular calcification resemble experimental magnesium deficiency. Cardiovascular *calcification* in diabetes mellitus and renal failure, kidneys, urolithiasis, effect of magnesium in preventing. Soft tissue calcification inhibition by magnesium. Chrondrocalcinosis, enlarged joints, pseudogout Ca-PP- dihydrate. Apatite formation. Inhibit subcutaneous calcification by injection of CaATP with magnesium. Articular calcification of uremia. Interstitial and periarticular calcinosis. Myositis ossifacans. Tendons. Fluoride toxicity. Vitamin- D toxicity. Placenta calcification. Pancreatic calcification. Ocular calcification. Cardiovascular damage prevented by magnesium. These and other similar conditions, even in absence of magnesium deficiency, may be responsive to magnesium treatment over a one year period. The " Calcium-At-Any-Cost " campaign currently underway in the United states appears identical to the " Vitamin D-At-Any-Cost " campaign of the early part of the twentieth century. After many years of campaigning for a diet richer in vitamin-D, people began to get far too much with serious consequences. Normal exposure to sunlight provides enough vitamin-D to satisfy healthy bodily processes for most of us (exceptions including clinical cases of Season Affective disorder (SAD), and possibly dark- skinned people living in low- sunlight conditions). Supplementing with vitamin-D, pills, enriched breakfast foods, milk, and other sources of vitamin D led to an epidemic of 'calcification' of 'soft' tissues, such as the kidney, heart, aorta, muscle, hypercalcemia, decalcification of bone, muscular weakness, joint pains, and various other symptoms, all being symptoms of excess calcium. The " Vitamin D-At-Any-Cost " campaign was replaced by the " Calcium-At- Any-Cost " campaign, which has failed us too. It is time to get serious and address the real problem, magnesium deficiency. EDITORIAL OPINION: If a health consciousness revolution occurs and magnesium gets the 'attention' currently afforded calcium, great displacement is likely in medicine, because much of modern clinical practice appears built on the foundation of faulty calcium-magnesium balances. For those of us that have consumed too much calcium relative to magnesium, excess calcium has become a *neurotoxin*. For example, I used to be so sensitive to calcium, that a single 500 mg calcium dietary supplement induced in me a strong feeling of depression within 1 hour (relievable with 400 mg magnesium). To me, this is clear evidence that either treatment-resistant or stress-induced depression are not necessarily psychological or psychiatric disorders (although depression certainly can be). Rather, these forms of depression are a disorder of calcium / magnesium balance. Many people, women usually, e-mail me saying that magnesium did not terminate their depression. I always respond with a request for them to review their dietary supplements and dairy intake for calcium. Invariably, they report between 1000 and 2000 mg daily intake of calcium, as dietary supplements plus dairy, or that they used a non- ionizable compound of magnesium, such as magnesium carbonate, magneisum oxide or magnesium hydroxide. People have also used magnesium chelates of undescribed nature, magnesium aspartate or magnesium glutamate with greatly worsened symptoms. I report back to them that in my opinion their calcium intake is preventing their recovery and their choice of magnesium compounds is wrong. Those that make the suggested changes usually report back to me with really nice words of praise and thanks you notes for their very speedy recovery. From these results and others, we can infer that large doses of ionic magnesium in the treatment of depression and other disorders either: (a) restore hormonal control of calcium or (b) rebalence the calcium / magnesium serum ratio. In my opinion, re-balancing the calcium / magnesium ratio is more likely. Why? The effects of magnesium, although extremely strong, are short- lived; and continued magnesium supplementation is usually required to maintain well being. If hormonal control were re-established, it seems to me that we would not need continued large doses of magnesium daily. This is not to say that over a long time, hormonal control may eventually result, particularly if we eliminate sugar and other high glycemic index foods from our diets and supplement with chromium and possibly vanadium. Viewed under a dark field microscope, these red blood cells taken from a Gulf War medical reporter show many small spikes sticking out from their surfaces. These cell-surface spikes are produced by severe intracellular magnesium depletion and *excess* calcium resulting in echinocytes. I wonder if presence of echinocytes is predictive of who will benefit from magnesium therapy in treatment of depression and other disorders. I suspect magnesium treatment eventually eliminates echinocytes, restoring the picture of normal red blood cells. From this microphotograph, overdoing calcium supplements and foods rich in calcium (especially dairy products) and ignoring magnesium dietary intake appears to result in visible cellular " calcium toxicity " . This photograph is amazing; and should illustrate a new way of determining severe, potentially life- threatening calcium/magnesium imbalance. The presence of spikes would prevent spiked blood cells from flowing smoothly through arteries and veins. It seems to me that spiked red blood cells (echinocytes) passing through the arteries and arterioles of the heart and brain could trigger strokes and heart attacks and all precursor symptoms associated with these disorders. Remember magnesium is used to regulate receptor sites for neurotransmitters, and is active in the hippocampus (the emotional center of the body). Our children may be at great risk because they think they need to remain thin to be accepted. Those foods that are high in magnesium that would help them cope with the stresses of growing up (school yard bullies, PMSing teen girls, and teen life in general) are not on their plates. However, milk and cheese products are on their plates, and calcium/magnesium imbalances may contribute to school violence in manic or manic depressive (bi-polar) students. Without enough magnesium, these young people can lose control over their moods, sometimes with devastating results. Violence or meanness to others has not been reported in the medical literature to be caused by insufficient magnesium except in some ADHD, mania or manic-depressive patients. Consequently, I am not worried about ADHD, manic, manic depressive, or depressive patients getting too much magnesium, rather I am concerned that our calcium / magnesium balance be corrected. My worries about milk are additive to what some scientists worry about concerning homogenized milk. " Homogenizing cow's milk transforms healthy butterfat into microscopic spheres of fat containing xanthine oxidase (XO) which is one of the most powerful digestive enzymes there is. The spheres are small enough to pass 'intact' right through the stomach and intestines walls without first being digested. Thus this extremely powerful protein knife, XO, floats throughout the body in the blood and lymph systems. When the XO breaks free from its fat envelope, it 'attacks' the inner wall of whatever vessel it is in. This *creates* a wound. The wound triggers the arrival of patching plaster to seal off that wound. The patching plaster is " cholesterol " . Hardening of the arteries, heart disease, chest pain, heart attack is the result. " Atherosclerosis,1989;77:251-6. If you really want the scoop, and don't mind reading about the " pus " in milk, enjoy this site. Milk gives people gas too. Some depressed people appear to need more calcium because laboratory tests show that they are in a negative calcium balance. That means they leak not just magnesium (hypomagnesemia), but calcium too. They may have accelerated bone loss perhaps from post menopausal osteoporosis or other diseases or disorders. They are in a bad predicament. If they increase calcium they often become more depressed. If they decrease calcium they believe that they risk breaking bones from osteoporosis or osteomalacia. Magnesium deficiency is usually associated with hypocalcemia (low blood calcium), hypophosphatemia (low phosphate), and/or hypokalemia (low potassium). Hypokalemia or hypocalcemia are important clinical complications of hypomagnesemia. When a person is unresponsive to treatment for hypokalemia or hypocalcemia, magnesium may have been depleted. What to do? The medical literature clearly supports taking more magnesium and taking *boron* supplements or eating foods high in *boron* to help prevent the loss of these critical minerals. Hypokalemia can also be treated by switching from plain table salt (sodium chloride) to Celtic Sea Salt. Hypocalcemia has been treated with calcium supplements, but in depression and hyperemotionality, the doses needed are much lower and can be easily be obtained from lower calcium content food (non dairy). How about CalMax, the heavily TV promoted calcium supplement with magnesium? NOT FOR US! NO! Why not? First, CalMax is very expensive,and second it has a highly absorbable compound of calcium (calcium gluconate) and a poorly absorbed magnesium compound (magnesium carbonate). Although CalMax is on the right track, the ratios of calcium (400 mg per dose) versus magnesium (200 mg) are biologically misleading because the calcium is so much better absorbed than magnesium. I estimate that CalMax is the biologically functional equivalent of 400 mg calcium and about 75 mg of magnesium. Consequently, to get 1000 mg (for example) of biologically available magnesium from CalMax daily, one would also get over 5000 mg of calcium, which is decidedly unhealthy. How about Coral Calcium? HA! How about Caltrate? HA! You figure these out for yourself! Calcium has been hyped as an anti-cancer agent recently on TV. However, these scientists reported in 1986 that large amounts of calcium supplements are promoters of cancer relative to the clear anti-cancer action of both zinc and magnesium supplements. These scientists reported in 2003 that large supplements of calcium increase the rate of prostate cancer. This is not to say that normal intake of calcium found in foods causes cancer, rather large amounts of supplemental calcium does nothing to help prevent it and appears to promote prostate cancer. Cadmium is a well-known cancer causative agent, which is inactivated in the body by both zinc and magnesium supplements but not by calcium supplements according to these scientists. Consequently protection against cancer is afforded by zinc and magnesium supplementation, but not large doses of calcium supplements; and very large intake of calcium supplements should be considered to be promotive of cancer. In fact, a comprehensive review of the evidence links the consumption of milk from cows treated with bovine growth hormone (IGF-1 or insulin-like growth factor 1) with an increased risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer. IGF-1 is known to stimulate the growth of both normal and cancerous cells I had an Exatest intracellular mineral test done in March of 2003, 3 years after starting and very carefully maintaining a low calcium diet (zero calcium supplements, and nearly zero dairy products). I was concerned that after 3 years of extremely low calcium intake that perhaps I had " over done it " . I was very surprised to find that my intracellular calcium was out-of-range-HIGH. The high intracellular calcium made my intracellular phosphorous/calcium ratio extremely low and my intracellular magnesium/calcium too low. I had tried to limit my sodium intake (like our doctors tell us to do), and was amazed to find that both my intracellular potassium and sodium levels were also out-of-range-LOW. See my full report from IntraCellular Diagnostics here for overall results and here for individual element concentrations and ratios. I strongly urge all to take this test before starting a magnesium repletion program and monitor progress after first month of treatment, and again on a regular monthly or bi-monthly basis. You may be surprised to find very low intracellular magnesium and very high intracellular calcium are seriously affecting your health. To avoid possible circadian rhythm errors, test at the same time each day, preferably between 9 and 10 AM. Why do you think we have been lied to about the extreme importance to supplement our diets with calcium? Why do you think that billions of people throughout the non-Western world have never supplemented their diets with calcium and never drink milk and have no osteoporosis? This figure from Dr. Seelig's new book (The Magnesium Factor) shows that in 1977 Western countries having the highest dietary calcium to magnesium ratios (Finland, United States and Netherlands) had rampant *ischemic* 'heart disease'. More data here. On the other hand,Japan with a one to one ratio of calcium to magnesium had about 1/10 the incidence of ischemic heart disease. Why do we keep pushing the idea that more and more calcium is healthy; when in fact, it is a principal cause, perhaps the main cause, of heart disease and deaths in the United States? Are there some vested commercial interests at work here? Why doesn't the National Institute of Health speak to this horrifying issue? Why doesn't the Food and Drug Administration act? Why do doctors, nutritionists and dietitians push this toxic drug? Are they stupid? If there is any good to come from taking away our rights to free choice of vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids through implementation of the treaty provisions of CODEX, one would hope that calcium supplements would be prohibited. Not likely! I suspect that vested interests will prevail and magnesium supplements will be restricted, but not harmful calcium, sodium or sugar. Dr. Seelig points out that immediately after this data was released in 1978, Finland took action and people started consuming much more magnesium and potassium and much less calcium and sodium, and that now Finland has a ischemic heart disease rate lower than Japan. Did the U.S. take similar action? Ha! You gotta be kidding! Like calcium and magnesium, phosphate is essential to every cell in humans, plants, animals – every living thing. It is necessary for many of the biochemical molecules and processes that define life itself. Phosphate is a charged group of atoms, or ion. It is made up of a phosphorus atom and four oxygen atoms (PO4) and carries three negative charges. The phosphate ion combines with various atoms and molecules within living organisms to form many different compounds essential to life. Some examples of phosphate's role in living matter include: (1) Giving shape to DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid), which is a blueprint of genetic contained in every living cell. A sugar-phosphate backbone forms the helical structure of every DNA molecule, playing a vital role in the way living matter provides energy for biochemical reactions in cells. The compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is extremely dependent upon adequate magnesium for its function) stores energy living matter gets from food (and sunlight in plants) and releases it when it is required for cellular activity. After the energy, in the form of a high-energy phosphate bond, is released the ATP becomes a lower-energy adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or a still lower-energy adenosine monophosphate (AMP) molecule. These will be replenished to the higher-energy ATP (or ADP) state with the addition of phosphate by various mechanisms in living cells. The forming and strengthening of bones and teeth. We get phosphate from the foods we eat. These examples show the *phosphorus* content of some foods (mg/100 grams of various foods). Milk 93 Lean Beef 204 Potatoes 56 Broccoli 72 Wheat Flour 101 Cheddar Cheese 524 Do we get too much phosphate? For some people eating too much cheese, yes, they are getting too much calcium and phosphate, contributing significantly to magnesium deficiency. High phosphate (phosphoric acid) content soda (Coca Colas and Pepsi Colas) probably should be avoided, if for no other reason they are also high in glucose. Am I greatly worried about too much phosphate in our diets? Not yet, but only if we avoid cheese and its dual phosphate and calcium load. In summary, we can do much with our diet. We can ingest enormous amounts of magnesium (and fight off diarrhea), or we can save money by using less magnesium, ingest few or no high carbohydrate foods (especially sugar, corn syrup, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, bread, cakes, pancakes and waffles ), terminate our fascination with dairy and calcium (along with cheese's excessive phosphate), and supplement with probiotics to regain our mental health and defeat depression. Also, we will not need those nasty antidepressants! http://coldcure.com/html/dep.html#milk _________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjoguest DietaryTipsForHBP http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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