by Catherine Haug, August 15, 2011
Do you, like millions of others, regularly take supplemental calcium to build strong bones? If so, you may want to reconsider that decision.
The primary reason to rethink calcium and other mineral supplementation is that the mining of minerals such as calcium (primary source of most minerals in supplements) is an energy-intensive process, and as such is not sustainable.
And now there is a health reason, too:
Green Med Info: Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D increase the risk of cardiovascular events (2) reports that calcium supplementation significantly increases risk of heart attacks (from British Medical Journal research article by Bolland, et. al. (3)). Dr Mercola (1) reports that no more than 500 mg calcium per day should be taken supplementally.
How can this be?
How did we get the wrong RDA for calcium?
Don Beans says that the original RDA research for calcium used calcium oxide and other nonfood sources of calcium for their studies. Unfortunately, this type of calcium is only about 20% absorbed. In other words, 1000 mg of calcium daily provides only 200 mg of absorbable calcium to your body.
Since then, supplement makers have found that combining calcium with fatty acids (like calcium lactate or malate) makes the calcium more absorbable, but they never considered that 1000 mg of this type of calcium might then be too much.
Factors for bone health
Calcium is not the only factor in making strong bones. Essential fats, fat-solluble Vitamins D and K, along with other critical minerals including magnesium are all required for absorption of calcium from the digestive tract, and uptake of calcium by bone tissue. And this is only what is known so far.
It seems every few years another important player is identified, including several hormones and enzymes; there are probably more to come. All of these need to be in perfect balance for the process to work properly. Additionally, all the minerals with +2 charge (calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, etc.) affect the absorption of each other, as they compete for transport into the blood.
Over-supplementation of any one of these nutrients and factors can cause trouble, and for calcium, that trouble is increased calcification of the coronary arteries, among other problems.
My advice:
- Try to get all your nutrients from the food you eat. While this may not be possible with mainstream, commercially produced and processed foods, it is definitely possible if you consume primarily Organic, locally grown & produced foods prepared in your own kitchen.
- Use unrefined sea salt, as it contains all the trace minerals needed by your body and bones, and has much lower amounts of sodium than regular salt. It also supplies vital chloride needed to make stomach acid to improve digestion and absorption of all the nutrients in your food.
Dietary Calcium
The Got Milk campaign touts the consumption of dairy products to build strong bones, but this advice is only a half truth. The campaign is sponsored by the American dairy industry who process (pasteurize) milk.
Pasteurization effectively makes the calcium in milk unavailable for absorption (by denaturing the casein protein that binds calcium). Anyone who has tried to make cheese from pasteurized milk knows that it won’t work unless you add calcium (as calcium chloride) to the milk. (see my photo-essay: Chesse Making with Kalispell Kreamery Milk).
Raw & cultured milk
Raw milk (not pasteurized) is the best dietary source of calcium (and many other nutrients including natural vitamins D and K, and minerals such as magnesium), but few of us have acess to raw milk because its sale is illegal in our state.
The good news is that culturing the milk (yogurt, cheese, kefir, etc.) also helps to undo the problems created by pasteurization, making the calcium more available for absorption. And making cultured milk one of the best sources of dietary calcium.
Learn more about culturing milk: Gathering Notice: Lacto-fermentation, with Don Bates and Jeanette Cheney, August 17, 2011, or see our files on Culturing Milk at Culturing & Fermentation Files.
Dark green leafy veggies
Other great dietary sources of calcium and other minerals are dark green leafy veggies (but lightly braise them in butter or olive oil to make the minerals more available). Oxalic acid in raw greens binds calcium so that you cannot absorb it, but cooking in butter or oil helps to release the calcium and other minerals in the greens, and helps with absorption of the calcium from your digestive tract.
Sources and References
- Mercola: Is your calcium supplement a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen?
- Green Med Info: Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D increase the risk of cardiovascular events
- Pub Med: British Medical Journal research article by Bolland, et. al.
- The Campaign for Real Milk: www.realmilk.com and Weston A Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org)
- The EssentiaList: Chesse Making with Kalispell Kreamery Milk
- Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, PhD.