Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium
    User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium
    User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium

    By Nan Kathryn Fuchs and Jack Challem

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Calcium is essential for health, but it actually works best with magnesium to build strong bones, maintain a healthy heart, improve mood, and reduce PMT. This guide explains the health benefits of this nutritional team and how you can use calcium and magnesium together to enhance your health.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTurner Publishing Company
    Release dateSep 1, 2002
    ISBN9781591206040
    User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium
    Author

    Nan Kathryn Fuchs

    Nan Kathryn Fuchs, Ph.D., is the author of "The Nutrition Detective".

    Read more from Nan Kathryn Fuchs

    Related to User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium

    Related ebooks

    Diet & Nutrition For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Word On Absorption

      Dec 31, 2020

      Evidence shows that the higher the dose we take, the less vitamin C we’re able to absorb. It’s estimated that, when taking regular supplements, just 2000mg of a 12,000mg dose will find its way to our immune cells, for instance, and that delivering mo

      4 min read

    • Article

      D Is For Disease-free

      Sep 27, 2020

      D Is For Disease-free
      9 min read

    • Article

      Boost Your Glutathione Naturally

      Sep 27, 2020

      Glutathione (GSH) is a critical molecule in our bodies, performing many functions from quenching free radicals to neutralizing environmental toxins. High levels of GSH are linked to youth and vitality, and hundreds of studies have associated low leve

      1 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Mention The Warburg: Finding Cancer’s Sweet Spot

      May 24, 2020

      What’s going on in the body when we have cancer? The standard definition is that healthy cells mutate and grow rapidly. As the abnormal cells cluster, they form a tumor, which can spread to other parts of the body—and this gets treated with chemother

      4 min read

    • Article

      Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

      Oct 10, 2018

      Words DR KAREN BRIDGMAN Historically, dandelion root and leaves have been used to treat liver and kidney problems across Native American, Chinese and European cultures. In addition to being an amazingly beneficial plant medicine, dandelion can be con

      3 min read

    • Article

      Chromium: A Magic Mineral

      Aug 8, 2018

      Words DR KAREN BRIDGMAN Chromium is a chemical element — the 22nd most abundant element in Earth’s crust. The colour of rubies and emeralds comes from a trace of chromium. Chromium is used extensively in various industries (stainless-steel manufactur

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Forgotten Cure

      May 24, 2020

      The Forgotten Cure
      11 min read

    • Article

      Hawthorn

      Aug 14, 2019

      Hawthorn
      3 min read

    • Article

      Undoing The Damage

      Sep 26, 2021

      Undoing The Damage
      3 min read

    • Article

      Adrenal Fatigue & Your Skin

      Dec 12, 2018

      CARLA OATES is the CEO of The Beauty Chef, a natural beauty expert and the author of Feeding Your Skin and The Beauty Chef Cookbook. W: thebeautychef.com Are you constantly exhausted or lacking energy? Do you have difficulty sleeping or feel like you

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Natural Cancer-fighters

      May 24, 2020

      The Natural Cancer-fighters
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Infection Connection

      Nov 24, 2019

      The Infection Connection
      11 min read

    • Article

      Gut Healing 101

      Mar 20, 2020

      Poor digestion and bloating can be due to intestinal gut flora imbalance, ’dysbiosis’ as it is known. Naturopaths will often favour a three-phase, ‘weed, seed and feed’, approach. Eliminate the bad bugs (weed), introduce more of the positive ones (se

      2 min read

    • Article

      Supplements For A Healthy Prostate

      Jan 24, 2021

      Supplements For A Healthy Prostate
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fruits and Vegetables Are Trying to Kill You: Antioxidant vitamins don’t stress us like plants do—and don’t have their beneficial effect.

      Jul 17, 2014

      You probably try to exercise regularly and eat right. Perhaps you steer toward “superfoods,” fruits, nuts, and vegetables advertised as “antioxidant,” which combat the nasty effects of oxidation in our bodies. Maybe you take vitamins to protect again

      10 min read

    • Article

      THE calcium CONUNDRUM

      Jul 9, 2019

      THE calcium CONUNDRUM
      4 min read

    • Article

      Building Better Bones

      Jan 22, 2023

      Building Better Bones
      6 min read

    • Article

      Inside Job

      Nov 11, 2017

      Inside Job
      4 min read

    • Article

      Preventing Osteoporosis

      Jul 3, 2022

      Preventing Osteoporosis
      3 min read

    • Article

      STRONG On The Inside

      Nov 24, 2019

      STRONG On The Inside
      8 min read

    • Article

      STRONG On The Inside

      Sep 11, 2019

      STRONG On The Inside
      8 min read

    • Article

      Bone Of Contention?

      Dec 22, 2020

      Bone Of Contention?
      3 min read

    • Article

      Vital Vitamins

      Mar 24, 2023

      Vital Vitamins
      4 min read

    • Article

      MINERALS But Mighty

      Dec 21, 2020

      MINERALS But Mighty
      5 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Talk About Anaemia

      Mar 4, 2020

      Let’s Talk About Anaemia
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      User's Guide to Calcium & Magnesium - Nan Kathryn Fuchs

      INTRODUCTION

      Calcium. It’s not just a miracle mineral for strong bones. Calcium helps your heart contract, lowers your blood pressure, and nourishes your nerves. In some people, it protects against colon cancer and reduces symptoms of PMS.

      But calcium doesn’t work alone. Without enough magnesium, calcium can actually cause more harm than good. Calcium is better known than magnesium. But magnesium is so important to our health, and so lacking in our diets, that people who supplement with it often think they’ve found a miracle mineral. In many ways, they have.

      Magnesium is calcium’s partner in many body functions. Without enough magnesium, calcium can’t get into your bones. It’s simply not absorbed. And this unabsorbed calcium can lead to such health problems as arthritis and heart disease. Although a great many supplements contain both calcium and magnesium, you may need more magnesium and less calcium than they contain—especially if you also eat a high-calcium, low-magnesium diet.

      A typical American diet tends to be high in calcium and low in magnesium. Most supplements contain more calcium than magnesium, as well. Calcium supplements are among the most widely taken of all nutrients. More people take extra calcium than even vitamin C! The result is that our mineral balance has become calcium heavy and magnesium deficient.

      Low magnesium can contribute to high blood pressure, premenstrual mood swings and anxiety, sore muscles, depression, headaches, diabetes, and more. You need plenty of magnesium for a healthy nervous system, for energy, and to build strong bones. When you increase your magnesium, all of these conditions improve. There’s no doubt that getting enough calcium is extremely important. But getting adequate magnesium is often even more important.

      If you’re taking a lot of calcium and not paying attention to magnesium, it’s probably because that’s the advice you’ve heard. It’s information that’s generally accepted as being accurate. However, the amount of calcium and magnesium you’ve been told to take is based on very old research. Newer studies indicate that we need less calcium and more magnesium than previously thought.

      This User’s Guide to Calcium & Magnesium is designed to clear up the confusion about these two very important minerals and explain how they work together. It will answer your questions about the role of calcium and magnesium in various diseases and help you decide how much of each you need to get and stay healthy.

      Each of our bodies has slightly different needs so not everyone needs the same amount of every nutrient. This is not a one size fits all situation. There are always variables that are not addressed in the studies that have been conducted. Your body’s calcium and magnesium requirements may not only be different from someone else’s, they may also change with age, stress, the medications you take, and your particular health conditions.

      The amount of calcium and magnesium you need depends also on their forms. Not all of the minerals we get in our food or supplements can be well absorbed. Some forms of calcium and magnesium are well absorbed, like calcium citrate and magnesium citrate-malate. Others are not, like calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide. Since unabsorbed calcium can cause painful and life-threatening health problems, it’s important to understand which forms are best absorbed and to use only them.

      This guide helps you understand how your particular health and age affect your body’s needs for calcium and magnesium. With this information, you can decide how much of each of these important minerals your body needs, and in which forms.

      CHAPTER 1

      UNDERSTANDING CALCIUM

      You can’t escape it. News about calcium is everywhere—in magazines, on TV, and in newspapers. Everybody’s talking about the need for extra calcium to prevent osteoporosis. The reason for this is that 98 percent of all calcium is needed to continuously make bone. But if you think that calcium’s only job is to build strong bones, you’re mistaken. Calcium is essential for heart and nerve function, even though only 2 percent gets used for that purpose.

      The 2 percent of calcium that stays in your blood and soft tissues is vitally important to your health and well-being. All of your muscles—including your heart—need calcium to contract. In addition, your blood needs calcium to clot. And your nervous system needs enough calcium to send messages throughout your body.

      The problem is that you may be taking too much of a good thing. Taking too much calcium can be as much of a problem as getting too little. Excessive amounts of calcium can contribute to muscle cramping, heart palpitations and heart disease, fibromyalgia (nonspecific muscle pain), and some premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms.

      This is why it’s important to take the amount of calcium your particular body needs, and to take it in an easy-to-absorb form. Since calcium doesn’t work alone, it’s essential to take it with enough of its cofactors. Calcium can’t be well absorbed or be used effectively without other nutrients, such as vitamin D, potassium, iron, and magnesium.

      Cofactor

      A substance that helps another substance perform its functions.

      Why Calcium Is So Important

      Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body. Almost all of it is in your bones. Don’t think of bones as being dead sticks that hold your body together and keep you from collapsing. They are living tissues that are constantly breaking down and being rebuilt. The minerals that make up bone tissue need to be constantly available so that bone can be made continuously. Since some calcium is naturally excreted from your body every day, you need to get sufficient calcium in your diet and supplements every day.

      In addition, your body needs calcium to help transmit nerve impulses along nerve cells to send messages across your nervous system. Calcium also helps blood to clot and is involved in many other chemical reactions throughout your body.

      One of calcium’s major jobs is to help all of the muscles in your body to contract. Magnesium, on the other hand, helps them to relax. Together, these minerals regulate your heartbeat by contracting and relaxing as necessary. So, calcium is vital to a healthy heart. The right amount of calcium helps maintain a regular heartbeat, but too much or too little calcium can

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1