Killing Yourself with Calcium

In the United States, as of 2010, the mean daily intake of dietary calcium for individuals 2 years and older was 1029 mg (see reference and worldmap). According to the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies this meets or excessed the minimum daily requirement for all men and most women—for pregnant, lactating and older women the number is higher (reference). However, not all health authorities agree with this number (reference). Their recommendation is about half that quantity, which is in line with the World Health Organization's recommendation of 400-500 mg per day (reference). However, the higher calcium consumption in the United States has not come with healthier bones. Rather, just the opposite, Americans (together with the Scandinavian countries) have the highest incidence of hip fractures (i.e. osteoporosis [see notes]) in the world (reference). How is it possible that Americans (and the Scandinavian people), with higher consumption of calcium, have weaker bones?

It is even more sinister than this. Higher calcium consumption comes with a cost. The excess calcium has a way of getting deposited in (or redeposited from the bones into) the soft tissues of the body. This soft tissue calcification is evident in the following areas:

• Arteries. Atherosclerosis or "hardening" of the arteries includes calcium deposits in the arteries. What is Vascular Calcification?
• Bladder. Urinary bladder wall calcification.
• Brain. Primary brain calcification can include symptoms such as migraine, parkinsonism, psychosis or dementia.
• Breasts. Should I Get a Second Opinion for Breast Calcifications? Breast calcifications are most common in women. The two main types are macro- and microcalcifications. Radiologists will typically first look in the calcified regions of the breast for signs of breast cancer.
• Bursitis. Calcific bursitis.
• Cartilage. Chondrocalcinosis and Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease (CPDD). Calcium deposition around joints, especially in articular cartilage and fibrocartilage.
• Endometrium. Calcific endometritis as a cause of infertility. Six patients were diagnosed as having calcific endometritis. Five of them were presenting for secondary infertility and only one was primary infertility. Post diagnosis and treatment, four patients conceived within six months and two within nine months.
• Eyes. Calcium Supplements Tied to Higher Risk of Age-Related Vision Disease. Calcium supplementation of more than 800 mg/day is associated with an increased prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
• Gallbladder. Porcelain gallbladder. Also see on Wikipedia here. Gallstone formation: The role of biliary calcium in gallstone pathogenesis.
• Heart disease. Aortic valve calcification. (YouTube) The Heart Test That Could Save Your Life - CT Coronary Calcium Score for general audience. (YouTube) Coronary Calcification and CAC with expert Professor Matthew J. Budoff MD FAAC. Technical interview on the origin of the CT Scan of the Heart.
• Kidneys. Nephrocalcinosis and kidney stones.
• Liver. Calcified liver masses. The Rocky liver.
• Lungs. Pulmonary calcifications. Calcification in pulmonary nodules.
• Ovaries. Large calcifications in ovaries. This study on guinea pigs may be relevant to humans: Calcifications in Ovary and Endometrium and Their Neoplasms.
• Tendinitis. Calcific tendinitis. See also: Calcific tendinitis of the shoulder.
• Thyroid. Thyroid calcification. When calcification is noted within a solitary thyroid nodule, the risk of malignancy is very high.
• Uterus. Uterine Cavity Calcifications.

So how does one remove calcium from the soft tissues and have it properly metabolized in the body? The answer is: Magnesium. Magnesium is calcium's antagonist. This short video, Balancing Calcium with Magnesium, explains the dynamic between calcium and magnesium. To treat or reverse soft tissue calcification a person must increase dietary magnesium consumption and/or supplementation.

• Soft tissue calcification treated with local and oral magnesium therapy. The treatment involved local application of MgSO4 (Magnesium Sulfate) under local anaesthesia into calcified areas for 2-20 weeks, together with peroral administration of magnesium lactate for 4-6 months. There were no complications or side effects of this treatment.
• Calcification and Its Treatment with Magnesium and Sodium Thiosulfate. The average American consumes only 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of magnesium.

Magnesium supplements come in many forms. Opinions vary on what form is the best. The most common is Magnesium Citrate which is an acceptable version. Forms of magnesium that dissolve well in liquid are more completely absorbed in the gut than less soluble forms. Magnesium in the citrate, lactate, and chloride forms is absorbed more completely and is more bioavailable than magnesium oxide and magnesium sulfate. Magnesium oxide has a very low (4%) bioavailability and can have a strong laxative effect. Magnesium sulfate (AKA Epsom salt) also has a powerful laxative effect. Other forms include Magnesium Glycinate which has a low magnesium concentration but has a neurotransmitter relaxing effect, and Magnesium L-Threonate which also has a low magnesium concentration but can pass the blood-brain barrier. The manufacturers of the brand ReMag (on Amazon) claim their magnesium product is highly concentrated with complete (100%) absorption. This is the one I currently use. I also supplement with a high dosage of vitamin C (over 3,000 mg per day) since vitamin C is also involved with bone mineralization (see The Roles and Mechanisms of Actions of Vitamin C in Bone). I take the Sodium Ascorbate form of vitamin C found here: Bronson Vitamin C Non-Acidic Sodium Ascorbate Powder. I don't take vitamin D supplements since I get plenty of sunlight, which is the recommended way of getting vitamin D.

A more aggressive treatment (or reversal) of soft tissue calcification involves supplementation with vitamin K2. Even more aggressive treatment would include chelation therapy via Magnesium Di-Potassium EDTA administered intravenously or via suppositories.

• Everything You Need To Know About Vitamin K2. Very long (duration of 47 minutes) and technical discussion for medical professionals. Vitamin K2 activates the protein osteocalcin which puts calcium in the bones. Vitamin K2 is also used to activate "matrix Gla-protein" which is the only known mechanism to remove calcium from the soft tissues.
• Vitamin K2 in the Raw Vegan Lifestyle. Bacteria in our intestines convert Vitamin K1 into Vitamin K2. It has been shown that most animals (including humans) convert the Vitamin K1 they get from plants (phylloquinone) to Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-4). Dr. Trader believes that when people show up deficient, they aren’t eating enough leafy green vegetables. Vitamin K2 can also be made in the liver, pancreas, and other organs, showing we do convert K1 to K2 and K4 as well as the remaining K vitamins. This is verified in the article titled “Conversion of Dietary Phylloquinone to Tissue Menaquinone-4 in Rats Is Not Dependent on Gut Bacteria.”
• Vitamin K2 (MK4 + MK7) at Amazon. Provides two essential forms of K2 (MK-4 + MK-7). Total of 600 mcg of K2 per capsule. Please consult with your doctor if you are on heart medications, since vitamin K2 may interfere with the medications function, particularly if you are on coumadin (warfarin) medication.

To repeat: Vitamin K2 supplement and chelation therapy are aggressive means for reversing soft tissue calcification and you should consult with your doctor if you are under any heart medications.

Notes

• Does Animal Protein Cause Osteoporosis?. Here is the video version: Alkaline Diets, Animal Protein, and Calcium Loss. It’s uncontroversial that protein results in greater calcium excretion—for every 40 grams of protein we add to our daily diet, we pee out an extra 50 mg of calcium. However, recent studies suggest that the calcium lost is not coming from the bones but from the diet itself.
• However, the prevailing theory that acid-forming foods such as meat were, in essence, at risk of peeing out bones down the toilet, has a flaw in it.
• Top 12 Best Foods For Magnesium. Excellent video at the beginning, but gets into milk, fish, chocolate, and coffee, then goes into low-carb diet (ugh!). An optimal calcium to magnesium ratio is 1:1 according to the speaker. See the following which list mostly nuts, beans, and grains: Top 20 Magnesium Rich Foods, The 10 Best Natural Dietary Sources of Magnesium, Top 12 Magnesium Rich Foods.
• 3 Mechanisms for Magnesium Deficiency. 56% of the U.S. population is deficient in magnesium. The RDA level is set at 400 mg per day, whereas the U.S. population is taking around 200-300 mg per day. However, the RDA level is the minimum level to avoid health risks, it is not the optimal level for the over 300 biological processes performed in the body by magnesium. We are deficient because of: (1) magnesium-deficient foods (i.e. low in plant foods containing magnesium), (2) poor magnesium absorption, (3) excretion (i.e. diabetes and alcohol consumption).
• Magnesium and DNA. RNA polymerase requires magnesium to produce RNA molecules from the DNA. Ribosome (outside the nucleus) also requires magnesium to produce the proteins from the RNA molecules.
• Magnesium Chloride - The Master Magnesium Compound. Many researchers advocate magnesium chloride as the most effective form of dietary supplementation. Magnesium chloride is completely ionized in water.
• Calcium is not what your BONES need the most- Markus Rothkranz. Duration 5:41. Good quick summary of what your bones need. It's not calcium. It's magnesium, K2, boron, vitamin C, vitamin D (from sunshine), exercise, etc.