Ok, there is a LOT of confusion out there about Calcium.
Today one of my Carson City Bootcamp members asked me what the best sources of calcium are. I think my answer surprised her:
“The best sources of calcium are leafy green vegetables”
Most people make an automatic link between dairy products and calcium, probably because of all of the advertising.
But really, our bodies have trouble absorbing dairy-based calcium, probably because of the poor diet that most dairy animals are fed. I haven’t seen any research on it yet, but I would bet that raw, full-fat milk from grass-fed cows and goats would be a good source of calcium.
The milk and yogurt on our stores shelves now? Forget it.
The best calcium sources for your health are leafy green vegetables.
In this post I want to share some ways calcium can be used as therapy:
Calcium Therapy One: Cancer Prevention
Calcium is very useful in preventing colon cancer.
Calcium in the colon acts to protect you, through a process known as “precipitation.”
It precipitates cancer-causing bile salts and fatty acids and protects the lining of your intestines.
Calcium Therapy Two: Detoxification
There are a lot of idiotic “cleansing” and “detoxifying” diets out there.
Generally, they ravage your health so much that you’re sure they have to be worth SOMETHING.
But calcium works in a different way: when your diet is missing enough calcium, you are more likely to take up toxins from your environment that will damage your cardiovascular system.
So getting enough calcium will prevent you from getting any more toxic, and the right kind of calcium (not from dairy) will also help get RID of toxins. Cool.
Calcium Therapy Three: Radioprotection
The absorption of radioactive elements can be decreased with dietary calcium.
This may not seem like such a big deal, but I grew up an hour away (upwind, thank goodness!) from a nuclear power plant, and everyone near it complained of health problems.
Eat some more leafy greens to get more calcium, and help prevent radiation damage to my body? I’m in.
Calcium Therapy Four: Osteoporosis
The right kinds of calcium are useful in treating osteoporosis, and have been used in Japan for much longer than in the United States.
Calcium Warnings!
You have to be careful with calcium supplements, especially for the elderly (with osteoporosis), because calcium carbonate 0 the most common form of calcium in supplements – can cause gastric irritation, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, nausea, and bloating. Yikes!
Calcium Carbonate is also used as an antacid:
Calcium Carbonate can neutralize stomach acids, but shouldn’t be used regularly.
When used as an antacid, there can be side effects like acid rebound, milk-alkali syndrome, headaches, irritability, nausea, tiredness, hypercalcemia, alkalosis, and kidney fatigue
So, next time you see someone popping antacid tablets after every meal, know that they aren’t saving their bones or fixing their stomachs, they are damaging their bodies!
To get your calcium, focus on:
– Leafy Greens
– Fish where the bones are eaten (sardines and mackerel)
– Coral Calcium water filters (this mimics the water found in Okinawa, where the people have amazingly long lives)