When Taking Calcium Can Hurt You

Calcium prevents osteoporosis, so lets all take
more calcium . . . right? Not necessarily, and
here’s why. Recently we’ve been told that vitamin
D is needed for calcium absorption and
that’s true, but what has always troubled me is
how little is said about the need for proper digestion
and absorption of calcium. You can take
ingest calcium; but if you don’t have the synergic
factors for absorption and digestion, it will
cause more harm than good.
How can too much calcium cause harm? Let’s
backtrack for a minute and see what the media
says. They say to use calcium citrate or liquid
calcium for better absorption which is half the
truth. They fail to articulate the fact that if you
don’t have the proper pH in your stomach it
doesn’t matter what form you take it’s not going
to be fully utilized. Minerals must be cleaved
from their substrate, ionized and then attached to
amino acids for transport and absorption.
The addition of calcium carbonate to Tums has
always confused me. Calcium carbonate needs a
very acidic Ph in the stomach for proper digestion
and absorption. Tums, an antacid, reduces
the hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach.
With all the over the counter and prescription
antacids and stomach acid blocking agents available,
it’s no wonder we have problems with an
epidemic of many modern diseases. Hydrochloric
acid decreases as we age. Maybe that’s the
reason osteoporosis is more prevalent as we age.
What happens when we get too much calcium or
calcium in an unusable form? I’ve seen calcium
abnormalities show up as bone spurs, kidney
stones, and calcium deposits noticed on mammograms
and heart scans. The lack of proper absorption
of calcium can cause calcium deposits
which are related to osteoporosis, heart disease
and heart attack. Remember too much calcium
can push or displace magnesium and potassium
which are 2 essential minerals for heart health.
For years white specks on finger nails have been
thought to be “zinc deficiency” spots. I think
they are indicative of a general malabsorption of
minerals. An associate of mine and a nutritionist
for 20 years brought to my attention that she had
numerous specks on her nails for years despite
zinc supplementation. She also had calcium deposits
on her fingers and found that when the
calcium deposits on her fingers were eliminated
all her white specks disappeared. She has also
seen this pattern with her patients for many years
as she changes people’s diets and digestion.
She came to this conclusion by accident many
years ago when she had multiple calcium deposits
appear on several knuckles of her hands.
They not only hurt but were unsightly. She also
had a mammogram which revealed numerous
calcium deposits. She had always had digestive
problems including heartburn, hiatal hernia,
and lack of hydrochloric acid in her
stomach.
She started taking Hydro-Zyme which is a
HCL supplement which also contains glutamic
acid and ammonium chloride. These last 2 ingredients,
she found out later, break down the
undigested, stored calcium that’s in the tissues.
She also started taking higher doses of Betaine
Plus HP, a higher dose of hydrochloric acid, to
correct her problem of heart burn and other digestive
and absorption problems. Within approximately
6 months all the calcium deposits
on her fingers were gone. She’s never had
them since.
That's amazing! She continues to take a small
dose of Hydro-Zyme, 1 with each meal and
large doses of the Betaine Plus HP, 4-6 per
meal. Her digestive issues are corrected and
her nails are stronger and grow faster with no
“zinc spots.”
There's also a story of "Bob”, and his family history of kidney
stones. Each of the 6 members of his family
has gone through numerous, painful episodes.
After he experienced 3 bouts with kidney
stones within a year, he decided to try to do
something about the calcium utilization problem.
By taking 2 Hydro-Zyme each meal, the
kidney stone formation stopped; and he has
been pain free for over a year.
As I mentioned earlier, when calcium utilization
is a problem, we can expect bone
spurs, kidney stones, and calcium deposits
that show up on mammograms and heart
scans. Due to the kidney stones and white
spots on his nails, Bob was encouraged by
my associate to get a heart scan. His cardiologist
was amazed to see calcium deposits
on someone only 34 years of age.
So what are the causes of poor calcium utilization?
The major ones are: drinking carbonated
beverages, a lack of hydrochloric
acid in the stomach and antacid use. No
wonder we have a calcium problem with all
the antacid and stomach acid blockers prescribed
and taken by the majority of people.
The body is trying to tell us something when
we get indigestion, poor growth of hair and
nails, and certainly as things like bone spurs,
kidney stones or calcium deposits are detected.
We need to listen to what our bodies are
trying to tell us. Why wait for something
serious to develop. Pay attention to the signs
early.