Research

Picture a classroom full of students taking the same course. Also, imagine if you can that they all have perfect attendance during the year. What is the chance that they will get the exact same score, come exam time? Very low, right? And that is in large part because their ability to absorb information is very different from each other. You can make a similar comparison with calcium. Statistics show we Westerners get the most calcium in the world, but still suffer from the highest rates of osteoporosis. Why? In part because of an inability to fully absorb it. Dr. Elson Haas, writer of “Staying Healthy with Nutrition,” states that 30-80 % of dietary calcium is not absorbed by the body. Other study results found that pre- and menopausal women absorb anywhere from 17-58%. Calcium supplement makers, knowing this is…

Four doctors: Gil Kaats, Larry May, Robert Thompson and Marcus Laux discuss the benefits of plant calcium, specifically AlgaeCal, over typical rock-sourced calcium supplements. Dr. Gilbert R Kaats, PhD, Chairman and CEO of Integrative Health Technologies, Inc., says:  “I don’t think everyone should be taking calcium that’s derived from rocks. The standard forms of calcium [rock based] I have some real concern- and that concern has grown over the years as I’ve looked at the literature more and more.” Dr. Robert Thompson a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who practices in Soldotna and Anchorage, Alaska, about plant calcium states: (It is) “certainly the best source of calcium we can provide to our patients…it provides over 1600 mg of trace minerals and over 700 mg of calcium and supplies our daily needs beautifully.” Dr. Lawrence A. May is an American physician, author…

  Someone may have pulled a trick on you. How so? If you bought and take a mainstream calcium tablet, it may be because the seller kept the most crucial detail from you – that it’s made from rock! But it gets worse. Read on to learn 3 reasons that will make you flush the last of your calcium supplements down the drain, and say ‘good riddance!’ Is Your Calcium Giving You False Advertising? It’s funny how sometimes we fool ourselves and each other with euphemisms. Granted, sometimes the intention is a good one: to soften, or alter the hard reality. For example, rather than say someone is fat and bald, we say that they have ‘a few extra pounds’ and are ‘thinning on top’. And we soften the hard reality with things that we consume too. It starts when…

  In 2011 a study emerged that claimed taking calcium supplements can increase your risk of heart attacks. (1) So the headlines screamed…“Calcium Supplements Raise Heart Attack Risk 30%” An easy decision was to stop that habit as soon as you read the news, and many people did. Except in 2012 contrasting studies followed that said… “Calcium with Vitamin D Reduces Premature Death Rate.” (2) and “Vitamin D with Calcium shown to reduce Mortality in Elderly.” (3) Given that information, you probably didn’t know which way to turn, and neither did I! Authorities seemed to be saying calcium supplements would shorten AND lengthen your life; that they are good and bad for us. The resolution to this contradiction all along was in the details. So read further to learn about the trial and verdict… Do Calcium Supplements Cause Heart attacks?…

A new massive study involving over 9000 people has found that women can reduce their risk of death by 22% – by simply taking a calcium supplement! Given the negligible cost and time it takes to swallow a calcium pill, this sounds like the easiest decision you will ever have to make. A no brainer as the kids say, except some recent evidence seems to indicate that calcium does more harm than help. It’s said there are two sides to every coin, but it leaves us in a state of limbo, unable to come to a conclusion. Both positions are backed with scientific studies, so which side should you believe? To get to the correct answer, we must dig further into divisive, complex calcium. Calcium On Trial Over the last few years calcium supplements have taken a black eye due…

“Calcium Needs a Nutrient Symphony: The Key to Bone and Cardiovascular Health” ~ Lara Pizzorno, MDiv, MA, LMT Contradictory Research Findings Regarding Calcium Supplements Two contrasting studies made headlines this May (2012): one (Li K, Kaaks R, Linseisen J, et al.) reporting data on 23,980 participants in the EPIC-Heidelberg cohort that suggested calcium supplements might increase risk of heart attacks; the other, (Rejnmark L,Avenell A, Masud T, et al.) a meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials involving 70,528 subjects that found — only if accompanied by supplemental calcium — does vitamin D lower risk of all-cause mortality. How can we make sense of such seemingly contradictory findings? Are calcium supplements good or bad for us? An in-depth look at what each of these studies actually investigated and all their findings (not just one statistic taken out of context for an…

If you’ve had an ongoing interest in alternative health and supplements, you’ve probably heard an expression that regularly gets thrown around – “calcium is calcium.” I’ve heard store staff say this when asked to recommend a particular product – which translates to “just pick the cheapest one.” And doctors often repeat this if asked by a patient which product they recommend: “I tell my patients to take the kind that they tolerate best and is least expensive,” Marcy B. Bolster, MD, professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina and director of the MUSC Center for Osteoporosis and Bone Health. (1) It’s simple, and provides easy to follow advice for those shopping for the world’s most purchased mineral. But is it accurate? Yes and no. Once “Free”, All Calciums Are Equal…

Most of the pre-prepared foods available at department stores and fast food take-aways have high salt content. We know that high salt content in food is associated with a number of risk factors for health such as hypertension, heart diseases and stroke. New research from University of Alberta in Canada now points that high levels in salt in your food also leaches calcium out of your body and in the long run could be leading you towards osteoporosis if you are not careful about your diet. (1) Researchers at the University of Alberta found that when sodium was being excreted by the body after being filtered out through the kidney, it was also taking calcium along with it. The team of researchers lead by Dr. Todd Alexander worked on animal models and cells to find that it was no coincidence…