THE TRUTH ABOUT CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS & HEART VALVES

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THE TRUTH ABOUT CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS & HEART VALVES

JoAnn Guest

Oct 10, 2004 21:02 PDT

 

CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS ACCUMULATE IN HEART VALVES (mitral valve)

Compiled by Owen R. Fonorow, 2003

 

http://www.thecureforheartdisease.com/owen/TruthCal.htm

 

" Should anyone be taking calcium supplements? In my opinion,

absolutely not. " - Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD, OPTIMAL NUTRITION FOR

OPTIMAL HEALTH, 2001, Pg 132. Everything we know is wrong…

 

Calcium carbonate is the mineral form of calcium that is the

predominant form in dolomite, a very common and cheap source of

calcium used in many supplement preparations today.

 

One of the primary characteristics of calcium carbonate in nature is

its tendency to precipitate out of solution back into its hard,

rocklike form.

Dehydration, whether caused by the failure to drink enough water or

by taking medications such as diuretics, can promote this

precipitation.

-- Thomas E. Levy, MD JD, OPTIMAL NUTRITION FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH, Pg

128

 

Calcium Primer:

 

The human populations that consume the most calcium have the highest

mortality rates in the world.

 

The Scandinavian countries, the USA and New Zealand are the dairy

consuming countries and mortality rates soar in these countries.

 

In Japan and Portugal where the consumption of calcium from dairy

products is the lowest on the planet so are the mortality rates.

[international Journal Cardiology, Volume 33, 1991] – Bill Sardi

 

 

 

Overdoses of nonorganically based elements, seen in many mineral

preparations must accumulate when they are continually taken, and

the result is usually bad in the long run.

 

There is a lot of calcium in most diets, and even a relatively small

amount of calcium supplementation, taken on a regular basis, can

result in undesirable, rocklike, nonbiologic deposits of calcium in

the tissues.

-- Thomas E. Levy, MD JD

 

Here is the best advice available concerning calcium.

 

1. American women and men consume about 800 milligrams of calcium

per day and only require an additional 200 milligram of supplemental

calcium.

 

2. More than 500 milligrams of calcium in a single serving is poorly

absorbed.

 

3. Consumption of calcium in between meals, as recommended by

government health authorities, reduces absorption.

 

Stomach acid levels are low between meals.

 

Acid aids in the absorption of calcium, while calcium carbonate,

the most commonly used form of supplemental calcium, is generally

well absorbed when taken with meals.

 

Calcium carbonate tablets are not recommended for adults who do not

produce enough stomach acid (about 30 percent of older adults).

 

[Public Health Reports, Volume 104, 1989]

 

4. Calcium citrate does not require stomach acid to be absorbed. It

may be superior to coral calcium.

 

5. The claim that coral calcium is superior to other forms of this

mineral is largely based upon better absorption. The percentage of

coral calcium available for absorption is published at 39%, and for

coral mineral powder at 98%, and for Dr. Barefoot's calcium formula

84-97%.

 

There are no independent studies, so there is no way to verify these

figures. But the body maintains a tight control over the absorption

of calcium. Too much calcium and the blood circulation would become

too alkaline. If 80 to 90 percent of calcium were absorbed, there

would be undesirable health consequences, including an electrolyte

imbalance which could induce a spasm in heart muscle leading to

sudden-death heart attack.

 

6. The widespread shortage of magnesium, not calcium, in the western

diet is attributed to the high rates of sudden-death heart attack.

 

7. Calcium supplements should be balanced with magnesium, (probably

in equal ratios).

Increasing magnesium intake up to 826 milligrams per day was not

found to inhibit calcium absorption at an intake level of 812

milligrams of calcium. [Journal American College Nutrition, Volume

13, 1994]

 

8. Some of those 73 trace minerals in coral calcium are heavy

metals, which are undesirable. Even trace amounts of lead are not

permitted in other calcium supplements. -- Bill Sardi, Knowledge of

Health, Inc. Copyright 2002

 

 

 

Separating Fact from Fiction

 

 

There is another side to calcium that advocates don't mention.

 

Calcium can accumulate in heart valves (mitral valve),

 

a condition

that strikes 1 in 11 Americans.

 

It can become a concretion in the kidneys and become a stone, a

condition that affects 1 in 12 Americans.

 

While some studies indicate increased calcium intake may help

reduce the risk of kidney stones, a recent study suggests calcium

stone formers should consume water " relatively low in calcium " and

calcium-rich meals should be avoided.

 

[urology International, Volume 67, 2001] Calcium can also pile up in

blood vessels. Calcium artery scans are now performed to diagnose

arteriosclerosis. Calcifications can block the circulation to the

back of the eyes too. – Bill Sardi

 

 

 

Calcium Toxicity

In nature, precipitation occurs when the water content of the

dissolved calcium carbonate begins to evaporate, concentrating the

mineral and making it easier to drop out of solution. In the body,

similar factors can prompt the undesirable precipitation of poorly

dissociated mineral forms out of the blood, including calcium

carbonate. – Thomas E. Levy, MD JD

 

 

 

Even a highly dissolvable form of calcium with weak ionic

attractions when dissolved, such as calcium chloride or calcium

citrate, will eventually saturate the blood and drop out of

solution.

 

So even if your calcium (or other mineral) doesn't come from rock,

it can still eventually deposit abnormally in your tissues if you

take too much. – Tom Levy

 

One of the clearest examples of toxic accumulation is seen with most

common forms of calcium supplementation. Massive amounts of calcium

from such sources will increase bone density only slightly, while

significantly increasing unwanted calcium deposition elsewhere in

the body.

 

Furthermore, high supplemental calcium may increase the risk of

symptomatic kidney stones, while high dietary calcium intake appears

to decrease the risk. -- Thomas E. Levy, MD JD, OPTIMAL NUTRITION

FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH, Pg 128-132

 

Too much calcium not only results in calcifications, but calcium

overload can produce severe muscle spasms and cramping.

 

Calcium is a muscle constrictor while magnesium is a muscle

relaxant. Excessive calcium often produces symptoms of constipation,

heart flutters (fibrillation), eyelid twitch, migraines, leg cramps,

back aches and monthly cramping in females. – Bill Sardi

 

 

 

Sodium competes with calcium for absorption. American women may

require far more calcium than women in Asian cultures. Women with

low sodium intake may need as little as 500 milligrams of calcium

per day (which is about the amount Japanese women consume).

 

 

 

Link From Calcium to Cancer Runs Both Ways…

 

 

Horse breeder and researcher Gordon Woods has long suspected the

important role of calcium in rapid cell division, which occurs when

a tumor is growing out of control -- and when an embryo is

developing. " There is an electrifying similarity between rapidly

dividing embryo cells and rapidly developing cancer cells, " he said.

[*]

 

 

 

Woods' discovery that calcium was key to success in the mule-cloning

experiment bolstered his hypothesis that calcium induces rapid cell

growth.

 

While attempting to clone a mule, Woods discovered that bathing the

cloned embryo in a common element -- calcium -- was key to a

successful pregnancy.

 

Coincidentally, calcium also plays a key role in the development of

cancer tumors; its levels in cells are elevated when cancer tumor

cells divide uncontrollably.

 

 

 

Calcium and Prostate Cancer

 

 

High calcium consumption may not be a good idea for older males who

are prone to developing prostate cancer.

 

Consumption of more than 2000 milligrams of calcium per day

increased the risk of prostate cancer by about 300 percent. [Cancer

Research, Volume 58, 1998] -- Bill Sardi

 

 

Owen Fonorow

Vitamin C Foundation

PO Box 3097, Lisle IL 60532

www.VitaminCFoundation.org

630-416-1438

_________________

 

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