Calcium

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Calcium requirement for men and women is lower than previously estimated.
US Department of Agriculture

Experts say excessive calcium intake may be unwise in light of recent studies showing that high amounts of the mineral may increase risk of prostate cancer. “There is reasonable evidence to suggest that calcium may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer,” says Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, senior epidemiologist in the epidemiology and surveillance research department of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Rodriguez says that a 1998 Harvard School of Public Health study of 47,781 men found those consuming between 1,500 and 1,999 mg of calcium per day had about double the risk of being diagnosed with metastatic (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) prostate cancer as those getting 500 mg per day or less. And those taking in 2,000 mg or more had over four times the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer as those taking in less than 500 mg.

Later in 1998, Harvard researchers published a study of dairy product intake among 526 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 536 similar men not diagnosed with the disease. They found a 50% increase in prostate cancer risk and a near doubling of risk of metastatic prostate cancer among men consuming high amounts of dairy products, likely due, say the researchers, to the high total amount of calcium in such a diet. The most recent Harvard study on the topic, published in October 2001, looked at dairy product intake among 20,885 men and found men consuming the most dairy products had about 32% higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those consuming the least.

The adverse effects of excessive calcium intake may include high blood calcium levels, kidney stone formation and kidney complications. Elevated calcium levels are also associated with arthritic/joint and vascular degeneration, calcification of soft tissue, hypertension and stroke, increase in VLDL triglycerides, gastrointestinal disturbances, mood and depressive disorders, chronic fatigue, and general mineral imbalances including magnesium, zinc, iron and phosphorus. High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and subsequently inhibit the vitamin’s cancer protective effect unless extra amounts of Vitamin D are supplemented.

Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body. Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible our body structure is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need.

Past recommendations of ratios of magnesium to calcium were generally one part magnesium to two parts calcium. However, for those interested in preventing cancer one should look closely at the 3:1 ratio and during the first six months of cancer treatment, one should be looking at ten parts magnesium to one part calcium. In reality one need not even count the ratio during the first months for the only real danger of extremely high magnesium levels comes with patients suffering from kidney failure. If one is at all concerned about their calcium intake one should eat foods high in both calcium and magnesium like green leafy vegetables and toasted sesame seeds. I particularly recommend Silver-beet. (Swiss Chard).

Magnesium has a central regulatory role in the cell cycle including that of affecting transphorylation and DNA synthesis, and has been proposed as the controller of cell growth, rather than calcium.

Medical wisdom tells us that magnesium is actually the key to the body’s proper assimilation and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. If we consume too much calcium without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions in the body. Hypocalcemia is a prominent manifestation of magnesium deficiency in humans. (Rude et al., 1976) Even mild degrees of magnesium depletion significantly decrease the serum calcium concentration. (Fatemi et al., 1991)

Doctors who have used intravenous magnesium treatments know the benefits of peaking magnesium levels, even if only temporarily. For the cancer patient the transdermal approach combined with oral use offers the opportunity to take magnesium levels up strongly and quickly. For emergency situations three applications a day, for urgent two treatments would be indicated though one strong treatment with an ounce of a natural magnesium chloride solution spread all over the body like a sun screen is a powerful systemic treatment.

Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible our body structure is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need.

Up to 30% of the energy of cells in your body is used to pump calcium out of the cells.

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