The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

pmb72 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:00:20 GMT

Are there any studies that show how much elemental calcium per day actually needs to be absorbed by the human body, for optimal health vs how much needs to be consumed? Since various forms of calcium taken under different circumstances lead to varying levels of absorption by the body.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

nomorenurse — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:55:11 GMT

Would like to point out that there is a new calcium supplement on the block...and when Dr. Mercola says that dairy is still the best source of calcium, I wonder if he knows about the new source. It is the world's first plant based calcium supplement, and it is made from Algea and is patented by AlgaeCal. AlgaeCal sells it themselves, but they also allow New Chapter Bone Strength Take Care to use it also. It is WAY more assimilatable than the other forms from animal, bone, rock, and shell.

It also is purported to do something none of the others can do....and that is BUILD BONE. I'll let you do the homework on it, like I did.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

TIMA_203 — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:31:35 GMT

Your article doesn't talk about quality of calcium supplements. There are a lot of different forms -- some much better than others. How do we know what type of calcium supplements were used in comparison here?

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Herbal_Venn — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:23:19 GMT

Basic physiolohgy here .... animal proteins create an acid load in the body which must be counteracted by producing a suitable buffer (homeostasis).......Calcium is leached from bones to create such a buffer in the body ,, so technically milk and dairy which contain high amounts of animal protein.. are actually leaching Ca from bones. In addition:

"Sulphur-containing amino acids in protein-containing foods are metabolized to sulfuric acid. Animal foods provide predominantly acid precursors. Acidosis stimulates osteoclastic activity and inhibits osteoblast activity." (Dr. Sellmeyer MD)

A study published in the January, 2001 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the diets of 1,035 women, particularly focusing on the protein intake from animal and vegetable products. Deborah Sellmeyer, M.D., found:

ANIMAL PROTEIN INCREASES BONE LOSS

In her study, women with a high animal-to-vegetable protein ratio experienced an increased rate of femoral neck bone loss. A high animal-to-vegetable protein ratio was also associated with an increased risk of hip fracture.

There are also problems with phosphate levels in dairy ( okok ill admit not sure if RAW milk also contains high levels ) but the problem with phosphates are that they compete with Ca for absorption..... so bottom line is which we may get Ca from dairy we actaully are losing some in the process..... if we look at the levels of osetoposorisis we find that it is HIGHEST in countries that consume the highest amounts of dairy (even when variables such as excercise etc. are accounted for). In addition there are problems with the bioavailability of they Calcium form dairy sources..

ill admit i am a Vegan and perhaps udderly biased but you owe it to the moo mooo's to do some research..... a wonderful resource is "The China Study" which is a massive nutritional study done over the past 30 years ...

please no agressive replies...

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Marcel-S.K. — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:56:20 GMT

I never take any supplements. Being a lactovegetarian since 1976, I only had some raw milk in my childhood, it has disappeared from the market long time ago. My calcium intake from the pasteurized milk must have been poor, as it has NO After getting into veg diet, I started to use TAHINE (sesame cream) mixed with honey as my only bread spread with a drink I call (oats "tea", as it is a bit of oats boiled with water, very fluid).

I must have eaten tahine more than almost anyone alive, :)

Just a few years ago, I came to know sesame seeds are the number one source of calcium (and zinc, + one of the highest in iron, according to USDA).

That must have been something good, I suppose.

Over the last few years study nutrition became a hobby, lots of reading, some thousands of hours.

So...SESAME is something I guess has an important role in my health...

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

ponceone — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:01:05 GMT

The only problem with the raw milk is, I live in Louisiana and it is illegal to sell raw milk. Also, it is very hard to come by, so what other alternatives would one have?

thanks

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Nat — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:10:48 GMT

Cow's milk is high in calcium (About 118mg/100gms) but also high in phosphorus (About 97mg/100gms). Phosphorus combines with calcium in the human digestive tract and blocks its assimilation. Only foods with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2 to 1 or better should be viewed as a source of calcium. Human milk is 2.35 to 1.

Cow's milk is not a source of calcium and this claim is just another fallacious piece of information from the Dairy Industry. Gram for gram there are better sources of calcium, including almonds, kale, sesame seeds, broccoli, sardines and kelp. As well as vitamin D the mineral boron helps bones to assimilate and retain calcium. There is sufficient evidence to show that osteoporosis is not caused so much by a lack of calcium in the diet, as by the leaching of calcium from bones and teeth, caused by highly acidic diets. The body uses calcium and magnesium to maintain stable blood PH levels and people in the West consume many foods that cause acidosis, especially refined sugar.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

pinkskittles — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:01:51 GMT

i read that dark leafy greens are the best source of calcium since milk calcium becomes unusable/unabsorbable because of pasteurization and homogenization. raw milk isn't a reality for everyone (though i wish it were) but i agree that food sources are much better sources for calcium than supplements. the idea isn't to get people to switch from drugs to supplements, it's to get them to realize the benefits of eating healthy food. nutrients from food are ALWAYS superior to those found in supplements.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

saynotoquacks — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:23:42 GMT

The unabsorbed calcium from the supplements probably can clog up your kidneys and cause kidney stones, so I'd be careful with them or avoid them altogether.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Ea Ea — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 03:58:56 GMT

The animal fat and calcium scares have led to osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and cataracts. Told that they need calcium to avoid osteoporosis and that they must avoid animal fats people have turned to skim milk or supplements. But the calcium in milk is not *properly* metabolized without the fat. So it doesn't strengthen their bones -- result, osteoporosis. However it *does* produce bony growths in their joints -- result, osteoarthritis. About 5 years or so after eliminating animal fat and starting to take skim milk or calcium supplements you can expect to notice arthritis, and you had better really be careful about your bones.

I regularly jump 4 feet off my deck, instead of taking the stairs, to stress my bones and keep them strong (I am 80). But if you are tempted to follow my example, beware! My neighbor one day, in a playful mood, jumped a foot or so off a rock and ended up incapacitated for months with a horrendous broken leg. Be sure your diet is one which will actually strengthen your bones. And never stress your bones beyond the limits they are able to handle. In other words build up the stress level very, very slowly.

About 40 years ago research was reported in Scientific American. The researchers wanted to see if yogurt was really as healthy as some people claimed. The rats they were using developed cataracts! Checking into it they found that the reason was that they were making their yogurt from skim milk. When they used whole milk the problem disappeared.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

curious7 — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:55:19 GMT

Whole food, hands down. But let us back up what is one of the biggest causes of calcium leaching in the first place? The culprit is "Animal Protein," not to mention caffine, and processed sugars. So continue your dietary habits, and try to fill that bucket with the holes in the bottom.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Pwyll — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:13:27 GMT

I like the sardine route too, it isn't because they are small, especially that they are safer from the mercury so much as the fact that they are very low on the food chain. I am not an advocate of drinking milk either, altho many do--I go by the baby cow theory.

Thanks for the calcium citrate idea--very nice--and i suspect you could use vinegar as well--make salad dressings there too...and so on. We should put all these ideas together at some point and make a best seller!!!

Sesame seed is an excellent source...I grind it up over my food.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Patty D — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:33:26 GMT

I read an article a few years ago that suggested a way to see if the calcium supplement you were taking was being absorbed by the body. Simply place the tablet in vinegar and if it isn't dissolved in 5 minutes, your body is not absorbing it. At the time I was receiving calcium supplements from the Veteran's Administration (which buys the cheapest products possilbe.) After 5 minutes it was still hard as a rock. It still hadn't dissolved in hours. I now take calcium citrate and magnesium. I have mild osteoporosis from long term steroid use (been off for years) and cannot tolerate enough dairy to get enough calcium. I recently tried raw milk and making kefir and I still can't tolerate it. Sometimes you have to use supplements, but make sure they work.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Llepke — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:52:23 GMT

you know your body doesn't assimilate too much calcium from shells, some really high calcium foods that are yummy are Dried figs 241mg, Greens: Collard 266mg, Lambsquarters 464mg, Amaranth 276mg, Turnip 197mg, raw Sesame seeds 1404mg, Blackstrap Molasses 2821mg, I know you're not going to consume a cup of sesame seeds or molasses in one sitting but the Nutrition Facts are per cup.

re: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Linda in Alaska — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:43:32 GMT

I live in Alaska and good foods are not particularly easy (or affordable due to shipping expenses) to access and I find I really do need to supplements. Even sunlight, natural vit D, is an issue. And grassfed raw milk (and raw milk products)......in my dreams. I do get salmon though! So....ideas anyone?