Dr. Thompson had an interesting journey in his health education in that he was ready to quit practicing medicine, and then was honored with the selection as one of the Best Doctors in America in 1996. He had an epiphany at that time and decided to go back into the field of medicine with a renewed vigor at seeking the true underlying cause of most of his patient’s problems.
Although he was able to resolve many illnesses with supplements and herbs and other less toxic alternatives to drugs, he progressively realized that similar to the pharmaceutical industry, the nutrition industry had its own flaws. He concluded that enormous amounts of money were being wasted on supplements that had little or no health benefit, and in some cases were actually worsening people’s health.
He gradually evolved a number of theories and condensed many of them into his book The Calcium Lie. One of the tenets of his book is that bone is composed of at least a dozen minerals, and if you focus exclusively on calcium supplementation you are likely going to worsen your bone density, and will actually increase your risk of more than merely osteoporosis.
Dr. Thompson believes that the overconsumption of calcium in the goal of preventing osteoporosis creates other mineral deficiencies and imbalances that will increase your risk of heart disease, kidney stones, gallstones, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Interestingly, he proposes that one of the best practical alternatives is the use of naturally occurring ionic supplements, as ionic minerals are the most plentiful form of minerals found on earth. They are flowing in all fresh water, buried in ground deposits in places where oceans once existed and of course, are plentiful in the ocean.
He believes that almost everyone needs trace minerals, not just calcium, because you simply cannot get all the nutrients you need through food grown in mineral depleted soils.
Unprocessed Salt is the Solution
Dr Thompson believes that unprocessed salts are one of the best sources of these ionic trace minerals which are responsible for catalyzing many important functions in your body.
This particularly intrigued me as I have always been a long time fan of high quality salt, and even more so once I learned of Himalayan salt, which I believe is one of the best salts on the planet. So much so, that I travel with my own salt container and will use it when I am out eating with friends or at a restaurant.
So I am delighted that many of Dr. Thompson’s conclusions support my own in that you should avoid all processed salts and liberally use high quality salts like Himalayan, as they have vitally important trace minerals from the ancient oceans that are not contaminated with toxins and that are very difficult to consume in today’s challenged agricultural practices.
Concerns about Vitamin D
I do find many good ideas in The Calcium Lie but have one area of concern regarding his discussion of vitamin D. Unfortunately it does not account for the bulk of new research that has evolved in the 21st century on this crucial nutrient. His list of diseases that vitamin D influences does not contain the bulk of conditions that we now know vitamin D influences.
More importantly, Dr. Thompson’s recommendation on whether or not to supplement is based upon knowing the results of your hair analysis. His recommendation is inconsistent, as he provides no caution for you to receive unlimited sunshine in the summer where you can receive upwards of 20,000 units of vitamin D a day, but warns you not to take supplements in the winter unless you know your hair analysis results.
I have done quite a bit of research on vitamin D and I believe that his recommendation on vitamin D would do you more harm than good.
Overall though, I think you would likely enjoy The Calcium Lie, and it would be an important contribution to your health library.