Got Calcium?

GOT CALCIUM?

By Lawrence Stepanowicz, ND


We all know what calcium is. It's that hard, whitish mineral
substance that makes up the bulk of our teeth and bones. Some of
us may also remember that calcium, in it's pure form, is a
chemical element closely related to sodium and potassium, though
not quite as active.

From a physiological standpoint, the role that sodium and
potassium play in our lives may appear to be more subtle because
we can't see what they do, but calcium has it's more subtle
aspects, too.

Calcium is needed to help bind cells into organs, to transmit
nerve impulses that control our muscles, and to release the
chemicals that pass along signals between nerves.

Calcium aids in the production of hormones and enzymes and in
controlling their activity, these include things such as
regulating digestion, energy release, fat metabolism, and even
saliva production. Calcium is also needed for cells to grow and
for blood to clot.

And calcium supplements have been shown to reduce the risk of
colon cancer in men, the symptoms of PMS in women, and the blood
pressure of teens.

When we think of sources of calcium, most of us will immediately
think of milk, but milk isn't really a very good source, even if
we ignore homogenization and how that changes it and the
cattle-fed antibiotics and hormones that milk contains.

Fortunately, calcium is everywhere, though how much a given food
source contains can very widely. Calves start their lives
drinking milk but soon turn to eating vegetation, the source of
most of that bony mass on which they stand. Of course, they have
to eat grass and hay and corn in huge quantities to get that way.

You've probably heard of coral calcium. Maybe you've even seen
it sold through TV infomercials.

Unfortunately, most of its notoriety is based on highly
exaggerated claims.

No, coral calcium is not a miraculous cure-all for some 200
diseases. And saying that it can extend life to 120 years is a
transparently false conclusion based on a longevity study of
Okinawans, the residents of the Ryukyu Islands, an island chain
south of Japan from which virtually all coral calcium that's now
being sold originates.

But promotional hype aside, coral calcium can be an important
nutritional supplement for some very good reasons.

- Coral calcium is very absorbable form of calcium.

- Coral calcium contains magnesium. Magnesium aids in the
absorption of calcium but magnesium is a mineral most of us get
too little of.

- Coral calcium contains 72 other minerals. Some of these are
very important trace minerals that are generally absent from our
food supply.

- Coral calcium can alkalize your body and help keep your pH
level where it should be for good health.

Coral calcium may not cure cancer or raise your life expectancy
above 100 but it could help you live a longer, healthier life,
nonetheless.


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Dr. Lawrence Stepanowicz publishes Practical Health. For a free
subscription and a free copy of Jon Barron's "Lessons From The
Miracle Doctors" visit http://practicalhealth.net
For a quality coral calcium supplement at an ubeatalbe price
visit http://practicalhealth.net/calcium

Copyright Lawrence Stepanowicz, ND