Too much calcium can not only result 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. Another myth is that coral calcium protects against diabetes. Actually, diabetes has been defined as a disease of excessive calcium influx into cells. There is a relative high rate of diabetes among the people of Okinawa who are purported to consume large amounts of coral calcium. [Hypertension Research, March 2002] Calcium supplementation would appear to be a good recommendation during pregnancy given that extra calcium is needed to develop the baby's skeleton, but the dominance of calcium over magnesium may result in premature labor. [International Journal Gynecology Obstetrics, Volume 48, 1995] High calcium consumption may not be a good idea for older males who are prone to develop 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] It is interesting that the book THE OKINAWA FACTOR (2001), written by Drs. Bradley and Craig Wilcox and Dr. Makoto Suzuki, notes that women on Okinawa who live to be 100 years of age only consume about 400 to 625 milligrams of calcium per day (page 144). 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 400-600 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. There is a false idea that magnesium interferes with the absorption of calcium. 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 mot permitted in other calcium supplements. Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc. Copyright 2002 |
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