Calcium...also called calci-yum :)

[Guest guest]

The most plentiful mineral in the body is calcium, comprising 95% of

the mineral content of the body. All the other minerals combined

make up the remaining 5%. Calcium is an alkaline mineral, and is the

great alkalinizer in the body because of its abundance.

 

All cooked food is acid-producing. Animal products, grains, legumes,

nuts, seeds, as well as probably fermented things are acid-

producing, whether cooked or raw. Additionally, when foods such as

animal products, grains, legumes, ferment are put into the body,

more calcium must be used up to deal with their toxic effects of

such inherently incompatible things in the body. That is one reason

why they result in more acidification and calcium depletion than raw

nuts and edible seeds.

 

Additionally, when we consume a lot of protein, the excess must be

excreted--the body cannot store protein, it must be either broken

down into amino acids, or else eliminated. Acid producing foods such

as animal products, grains, legume, nuts/seeds, are also high in

protein. Whenever the body consumes more protein than it can break

down and must eliminate it, it is flushed out of the small

intestine. The entire contents of nutrients from the meal is also

washed out thereby, including, of course, all the calcium and other

nutrients from the meal just eaten. So the body must then draw

calcium from somewhere for its metabolic processes, and of course it

must draw from the bones, which are the stores of reserve calcium in

the body.

 

In books by Dr. John McDougall, he describes how there is consistent

bone loss in people eating animal products. Drinking milk, which is

high in calcium, nevertheless results in bone loss, because most of

the calcium in milk is bound and not available for us (I'll bet

that's not the case if we drink the milk of our own species,

however). And the body must use its calcium reserves to neutralize

the acid-formation in the body from drinking milk.

Dr. McDougall also points out that taking calcium " supplements " have

shown no effect upon the rate of bone loss.

 

What are the sources of calcium? Raw fruits and veggies. Though much

calcium in greens is unavailable, bound up as oxalate, some greens

more problematic in that respect than others. You can find charts

which show the oxalate/oxalic acid content of different foods,

including various greens, do a search on these subjects. But in

general, a raw vegan/fruitarian diet of fruits, nuts/edible seeds,

and leafy greens/veggies, supplies us with far more available,

usable calcium than we probably have ever gotten before, and

additionally it does not use up the reserves of calcium in the body,

but instead adds to them.

 

If joints and hips are hurting after stopping the consumption of

animal products, I'm guessing it may be the body detoxing those

areas. Toxins such as uric acid, from animal products, are stored in

the joints, and when the influx of these foods stops, the body

begins to clean house. Detox is generally accompanied by symptoms,

discomfort.

 

Zsuzsa

[Guest guest]

Jesum,

 

Zsuzsa, you are one fast typer... I use the H & P method which has served me

well but maybe someday I'll learn to ramp it up a bit,

 

I hear you on that detox thing... I started the raw path back at the end of

December 2003, and I've experienced quite a bit of that joint pain as well.

I don't know exactly what the calcium does, but when I take it I sleep

better, so that's another reason I am hesitant to give it up right now. I do

want to be " supplement free " though at some point in the near future, maybe

after a year or two on the raw life style.

 

Jesse

 

-

" southladogs " <southladogs

<rawfood >

Thursday, June 24, 2004 3:24 PM

[Raw Food] Calcium...also called calci-yum

 

 

> The most plentiful mineral in the body is calcium, comprising 95% of

> the mineral content of the body. snip

[Guest guest]

Hi Jesse,

 

Pills, potions, powders, substances of all sorts, are palliative,

not nutrition. They force the body to abandon its healing and

cleansing, which is not a good thing. The body gives us symptoms for

a reason. Symptoms are a part of the healing and cleansing, and they

also are trying to force us to lay down to rest and sleep so that

the body can quickly and efficiently do its work.

 

In fact, most of the " supplements " available, are inorganic

compounds. They may put photos of lovely fruits and vegetables on

the bottles, and they may put some parsley or other nutrient in

there as a filler to attract customers. But the actual product is

generally an inorganic substance, probably a calcium salt. The body

cannot use inorganic substances as nutrition, and nutrition is also

not individual substances. These are merely palliative, just as is

aspirin, which many people also take on a regular basis.

 

There is no " need " nor benefit to taking " supplements " , ever. In

fact they are counter to health. Only real food belongs in our

bodies, and only real food is compatible with our bodies. When the

body gives us symptoms, it's best to cooperate with the body, permit

the symptoms to be, not suppress them. They are the means the body

uses to heal us.

 

Food is a symphony of nutriments, many as yet undiscovered, all

working in concert. That is nutrition. There are no calcium trees or

plants in Nature, there are fruit trees, there are plants. We get

organic, complete nutrition in Nature. Inorganic substances cannot

nourish us, minerals must go through the plant, to be combined with

other nutrients including carbon, which renders them organic, making

them living and compatible with our bodies. Nutrition is only found

in real, whole foods which are compatible with our physiology.

 

Zsuzsa

 

 

rawfood , " studio53 " <studio53@s...> wrote:

 

> I don't know exactly what the calcium does, but when I take it I

sleep

> better, so that's another reason I am hesitant to give it up right

now. I do

> want to be " supplement free " though at some point in the near

future, maybe

> after a year or two on the raw life style.

[Guest guest]

Zsuzsu,

Thanks again! You are a wealth of information! This was a great post

on calcium. I have been arguing the 'calcium issue' with my mother and

younger sister for the past week. My baby sister, at age 21, has been

vegetarian since the age of 10. She recently expressed the desire to go

vegan. My mother is against this, afraid she will not be able to meet

her calcium needs without milk or supplement. Since my sister lives at

home, she often " gives in " to keep peace in the home. I would like to

quote or send them this post, with your permission of course. Perhaps

they would believe someone other than me. LOL

 

Autumn

 

On Thu, 24 Jun 2004 19:24:25 -0000 " southladogs " <southladogs

writes:

<<The most plentiful mineral in the body is calcium, comprising 95% of

the mineral content of the body. All the other minerals combined make up

the remaining 5%. >>

 

 

[Guest guest]

Autumn,

 

By all means, please feel free to share my my messages. Here is some

info to back it up, written by M.D.'s:

 

http://www.makingpages.org/health/calcium.osteoporosis.html

 

Here's a chart of mineral values, including calcium, of fruits. Keep

in mind that our calcium intake need on a fruitarian diet is very

minimal, and that the calcium/phosphorus ratio is important, as a

high phosphorus content of foods is a major leecher of calcium

(phosphorus is an acid-producing mineral):

 

http://www.thefruitpages.com/contents2.shtml

 

http://www.guinealynx.info/fruit_chart.html

 

Also, you may wish to do a search under " john mcdougall calcium " ,

with your search engine. This brought up for me 1,048 sites on which

John McDougall, M.D., is featured, speaking about the harm of dairy

and other animal products, and its leeching the calcium from the

bones, which eventually results in osteoporosis. The body cannot use

the inorganic calcium in " supplements " .

 

Here's a good McDougall site, note the chart comparing the

calcium/phosphorus values in human milk versus cow's milk--in human

breast milk, the calcium is nearly 3 times that of the phosphorus

content, whereas in cow's milk the calcium and phosphorus ratio is

more 1 to 1, with the calcium being used up just to neutralize the

phosphorus. Dr. McDougall also dispels the myth of " deficiencies "

which so many fear--he acknowledges that we are a culture, not of

deficiencies, but of excess, and it is the excess of harmful

substances which leads to the loss of health:

 

http://www.food-health-fitness-vacations-spas.com/mcdougall-articles-

apr03-dairy.html

 

Here's a comprehensive site to turn anyone off from consuming dairy,

including two sections on calcium and dairy:

 

http://www.notmilk.com

 

Here is a site with calcium values including many veggies.

Unfortunately there are no fruits appearing on this particular

chart, but fruits are also plentiful in calcium. Also, it's not how

much calcium is taken in with the diet that is most important, but

how much calcium is leeched out of the bones to alkalinize the acid-

producing diet of cooked and/or high protein foods. When we eat raw

fruits and veggies, we are eating purely alkalinizing foods, which

replenish our calcium supplies, instead of depleting them, as do all

cooked foods and all animal products:

 

http://www.soystache.com/calcium.htm

 

Here are some other great sites, with so much incontrovertible

information regarding the depletion of calcium by animal products,

and the inability of the body to use the inorganic calcium in them,

as well as in " supplements " :

 

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/calcium.htm

 

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/MILK.HTM

 

Another factor is how much calcium is actually absorbed by the body.

Here's a chart of some foods:

 

http://www.pcrmindia.org/InfoonVegDiets/calcium.html

 

Isn't the internet great? So much info at our fingertips!

 

Zsuzsa

 

 

rawfood , athdesign@j... wrote:

> Zsuzsu,

> Thanks again! You are a wealth of information! This was a

great post

> on calcium. I have been arguing the 'calcium issue' with my mother

and

> younger sister for the past week. My baby sister, at age 21, has

been

> vegetarian since the age of 10. She recently expressed the desire

to go

> vegan. My mother is against this, afraid she will not be able to

meet

> her calcium needs without milk or supplement. Since my sister

lives at

> home, she often " gives in " to keep peace in the home. I would

like to

> quote or send them this post, with your permission of course.

Perhaps

> they would believe someone other than me. LOL

>

> Autumn