S A V E O U R B O N E S

THE ULTIMATE CALCIUM GUIDE

BY VIVIAN GOLDSCHMIDT, MA
 E
ven though I’m a chronic optimist, my visit to the doctor more than a half
decade ago almost crushed me. I remember walking into the large and sterile
waiting room with the certainty that I would breeze through the bone den-
sity scan, and resume my busy and happy life.

But, as you might know, things don’t always work out the way we plan. It turns out
I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, and suddenly, my future looked grim. My doctor
reviewed the results, wrote a prescription for Fosamax, and mumbled that I should
drink “lots of milk”.

I remember feeling overwhelmed and distraught. At the same time, I knew I had to
conquer this and truly believed that with my background in Nutritional Sciences
and Biochemistry, I could. But it would be no easy task.

I started with the assumption that the medical establishment’s osteoporosis solution
- “take these pills, drink your milk, and come back in six months” - was lacking
something... something big. There had to be more to the story.

And that’s what started me on this journey of medical research and exploration.
Naturally, I began investigating calcium, and now I’d like to share my findings with
you. I’m sure you’ll benefit from them as I did.

The Calcium Conundrum

I realized during the early stages of my research that calcium was not the answer;
that a lack of calcium is not the cause of osteoporosis. If that were the case, simply
loading up on calcium would “cure” it. Moreover, let’s examine this study byAmy
Lanou Ph.D., nutrition director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medi-
cine in Washington, D.C.:

“The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most
milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption
and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and
bone health is almost nonexistent.”
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 If calcium were the be all and end all that many proclaim it to be, why the disparity?

If you have the Save Our Bones Program, you know that what the medical profes-
sion calls "osteoporosis" is correctly defined as a condition of the skeletal system
typical of middle aged and older individuals that is caused by unhealthy biochemi-
cal reactions. The body is attempting to correct an imbalance.

And the way to regain your bone health is to correct this imbalance through a natu-
ral and drug-free multi-pronged approach that includes nutrition (including some
supplementation), exercise, and lifestyle enhancements.

So What IS Calcium's Role?

Bones become weak when there is too much accumulation of acid waste in the body.
The calcium that would normally remain in the bones is used to correct the acidic
imbalance. For that reason, there is a direct relationship between bone loss and an
acid pH.

So it's not nearly as important to get more calcium as it is to achieve a more alkaline
body chemistry to avoid draining the calcium from your bones. Without addressing
this imbalance, it won't matter how much or what type of calcium you take.

That's not to say calcium isn't important. If you are maintaining an acid/alkaline-
balance and following the other Save Our Bones Program guidelines, adequate cal-
cium intake, along with other bone-healthy nutrients, is certainly part of the picture.
But it's not the focal point.

How Much Do You Need?

If your diet is properly balanced in terms of acidifying and alkalizing foods, you do
not need as much calcium as you've been led to believe. What’s more, make sure
you don’t take more than 500 mg at one time, since that’s the maximum absorbable
quantity. So it’s best to spread the calcium intake throughout the day.

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 The actual dosage of calcium is not nearly as important as its absorbability. Let me
explain.

Once you understand why your bones leak calcium, and stop the underlying cause
of this calcium loss, you don’t need large amounts. For example, I (and many others
in the Save Our Bones Community) take no more than 800 mg a day, and have re-
versed my bone loss by 20% following the Save Our Bones Program. The Recom-
mended Dietary Allowance (RDA) ranges from 800 mg to 1,200 mg a day.

Elemental Calcium
The actual amount of usable calcium you get from a calcium supplement is referred
to as elemental calcium. Some supplement labels may show high levels of calcium,
yet the fine print may disclose a smaller amount of elemental calcium. Other labels
may make no special mention of elemental calcium and only show one calcium
amount. In this case, that’s the elemental calcium value.

It's also important to make sure you don't look at calcium in isolation. It works syn-
ergistically with magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, and other nutrients. In particu-
lar, your calcium formula should contain magnesium in approximately a 2:1 ratio to
the calcium (twice as much calcium as magnesium). Or you can also take each min-
eral separately; just try to make sure you take them in the correct ratio.

What Calcium Supplement Should You Take?

The most commonly available calcium supplements are calcium carbonate and cal-
cium citrate, both derived from inorganic sources, such as limestone and rocks. Cal-
cium carbonate has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, as I write in a
blog post titled Calcium and Heart Attack Alert: My Take.

So I favor supplements which contain organic calcium derived from plants, for ex-
ample algae, and that have the proper balance plus other bone-healthy "goodies"
such as Vitamin K2, Vitamin D3, and other important trace minerals. It is based on

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 the logic that we can easily digest and process edible plants, since we’re meant to eat
plant-derived foods (fruits and veggies).

If You Can't Find Organic Calcium

If for whatever reason you can't take or can't find an organic calcium supplement, an
amino acid chelate is a viable alternative.

With amino acid chelated calcium, the calcium molecule is bound by two amino ac-
ids, so your body treats the substance as organic.

You should be able to get this at a health food store or through popular websites.

Don't Forget Food!

You can get extra calcium from foods, so consider the supplements as a baseline to
meet your minimum daily requirement. Here are some of the highest food sources of
calcium which are listed in the Save Our Bones Program as Foundation Foods (and
they're all alkalizing):

• Cabbage

• Broccoli

• Spinach

• Lima beans

• Collard greens

• Kale

• Mustard greens

• Sesame seeds

• Flax seeds

• Almonds
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 What's Wrong with Milk?
Many of you know that I don't recommend consuming unfermented dairy products,
except in moderation as part of a pH-balanced meal. The truth is that milk and other
dairy products are not good sources of calcium. Consider these facts:

As mentioned above, Americans have one of the world's highest calcium intakes
from dairy products but still have one of the world's highest rates of diagnosed os-
teoporosis.

Post-menopausal women in America who consume calcium rich dairy products

have over three times more osteoporosis diagnosis than those who do not.

Women who drink two or more glasses of milk per day increase their risk of frac-
tures compared with women who drink less than one glass per week; consumption
of cheese and other dairy products also increase the risk of fractures.

When you understand that the pH of pasteurized milk and dairy products ranges
from 2 to 4, with the lowest pH (most acidic) for pasteurized processed milk, sweet-
ened yogurts and other processed dairy foods, the above statistics start to make
sense. Even though dairy products contain calcium, due to the acidic pH they actu-
ally cause bone loss. Bottom line: milk does NOT do the body good.

The only exceptions to this rule are:

• Unsweetened yogurt

• Sour cream

• Kefir

As far as milk goes, raw milk is a slight improvement. Pasteurization destroys the
enzyme that we need to separate the phosphorus molecule combined to the calcium
molecule in cow’s milk. Because the combined molecule is too large for our GI tract,

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 the calcium contained in milk is excreted in the urine. Also, the pH of raw milk is
more neutral than that of pasteurized milk.

Think about this: we are the only mammals that drink the milk of another species,
and if that wasn’t bad enough, that drink it after weaning. You can read a lot more
about milk in my blog post titled Debunking the Milk Myth: Why Milk is Bad for
You and Your Bones.

The Handy Calcium Chart

And now, I have one more goodie for you! Below, you'll find a simple breakdown of
the different types of calcium. This chart covers most of the calcium types you'll en-
counter. Now that you're armed with this knowledge, you don't have to get con-
fused by miracle claims or fancy brand names. If you're looking at an unfamiliar
brand, just read the label – it'll tell you what type of calcium is included in the sup-
plement, and chances are it will fall into one of the categories in the chart. The same
goes for calcium added to orange juice and other food products – it's usually calcium
carbonate, but check the label to make sure.

CALCIUM TYPE RECOMMENDED ORGANIC NOTES

Calcium (from al- Typically derived

gae) from marine

Calcium (Raw) plants (such as al-

YES YES
gae). This is the
Red algae/
preferred type of
seaweed extract
calcium.

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 CALCIUM TYPE RECOMMENDED ORGANIC NOTES

Amino acid che- Chelates attach

lated calcium: This themselves to or-
group includes ganic molecules,
calcium aspartate, so the body treats
calcium citrate ma- them as organic.
late, calcium glu- This is a viable
YES NO
conate, calcium second choice if
glycinate, calcium you can't find or-
lactate, calcium ganic calcium.
lactate, calcium
malate, and cal-
cium ororate

Inorganic. Derived
from limestone/
rocks. Poorly ab-
sorbed. This is the
Calcium carbonate NO NO type of calcium
that has been im-
plicated in in-
creased risk of
heart attack.

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 CALCIUM TYPE RECOMMENDED ORGANIC NOTES

Calcium carbonate
processed with
lactic and citric ac-
ids. Better than
carbonate because
Calcium citrate NO NO it is more digesti-
ble, but 21% is in-
organic. Some
consider calcium
citrate a chelate. I
do not.

Manufactured by
living coral organ-
isms as a protec-
tive shell. Harvest-
ing coral for cal-
cium raises envi-
Coral calcium NO NO
ronmental con-
cerns due to the
fragility and dete-
rioration of re-
maining coral
reefs.

Inorganic. Derived
Dolomite NO NO
from rocks.

Primarily calcium
Eggshells NO NO
carbonate.

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 CALCIUM TYPE RECOMMENDED ORGANIC NOTES

Typically derived
from calf bovine
bones. Contains
Microcrystalline
other minerals and
Hydroxyapatite
NO NO proteins in addi-
(MCHA) or
tion to calcium,
(MCHC)
but may have
quality control is-
sues.

Go Beyond Calcium
If you want to accelerate your bone building results with an easy to understand re-
source that reveals exactly what I and thousands of others in our community did to
increase our bone density naturally, then you absolutely have to check out the Save
Our Bones Program.

It's filled with breakthrough, 'take-you-by-the-hand', nutritional, exercise, and life-

style information that is proven to increase bone density naturally. The ‘Actions!’ at
the end of the chapters outline exactly what to do and are all backed by over 100 sci-
entific sources.

Click here to learn more

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