How much calcium do we really need? page 2

[Lukey]

You need plenty of Vitamin D to make any use of calcium you ingest. Fortunately you can get both calcium and Vitamin D in canned fish, a nice convenient package. No need for supplements. You could also make a big spinach salad and go eat it in the sun.

Yea i think i will try to get some canned fish rich in omega 3, i think that would be better than any supplement. Unfortunately there is never any sun here in ireland so i don't get much in the way of natural vitamin D, almost all dietary .

You could make sure you get everything you need by adding bone stock to your diet. I don't know how much of what we need, but I trust the bones I eat to know for me. (I'm no longer growing, but I am in prime aoseoporosis country with the bones "of a woman half my age" according to my doctor, so I think it's working.

Awesome, do you make the bone stock naturally out of the bones from the meat?

[BennettC]

You're overthinking it. Just eat some broccoli and enjoy.

the fiber in broccoli makes the calcium hard to enjoy making it a not so good source.

[Paleobird]

the fiber in broccoli makes the calcium hard to enjoy making it a not so good source.

So steam it. Cut into small pieces and melt a bunch of cheese over it. Two sources of calcium in one yummy dish.

[JamesS]

I am reading a lot of conflicting evidence on the internet about Calcium intake. At the moment i am not getting a lot of calcium in my diet, so i was thinking of getting a supplement or eating more calcium rich foods.

But i came across these videos

KGNU Calcium and Heart Disease 2010.mp4 - YouTube

The Calcium Lie - What Your Doctor Doesn't Know Could Kill - YouTube

What do you guys think? How much Calcium do we really need?

A large part of why there is so much confusion is because the recommended daily intake of calcium is based on the poorly absorbed calcium carbonate (oyster shell, coral, dolomite). They figure that if you ingest large enough amounts of this form of calcium that you will hopefully absorb enough of it to provide some benefits. Pre-acidfied forms of calcium such as calcium citrate are better absorbed and therefore there is a lower daily requirement needed.

But there is so much more to the story.

Calcium does not work by itself. With bones for example silica is the most important nutrient. Silica not only aids in the absorption of calcium, but it is also plays more of role in bone strength than calcium and is responsible for the mineralization of bone. Therefore, without silica taking calcium would do nothing for bones. Other essential nutrients for the bones include magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, strontium, calcium fluoride, copper, zinc, boron, vitamins A, C, D, E and K, essential fatty acids and the amino acids lysine, proline, glycine.

Also keep in mind that just because a food contains calcium this does not make it a good source of calcium. Take for instance dairy, which is rich in poorly absorbed calcium due to the high protein that blocks calcium absorption. Dairy is also rich in phosphorus that is readily absorbed. This can cause lead to pseudohyperparathyroidism resulting in bone loss. This is why dairy products, red meats and colas are so damaging to the bones. All of these are rich in phosphorus leading to pseudohyperparathyroidism.

Some foods can also contain other calcium blockers such as oxalic acid, which is also formed by the breakdown of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Synthetic ascorbic acid is extremely unstable and rapidly breaks down in to oxalic acid, so taking synthetic vitamin C with calcium sources can actually inhibit calcium absorption.

Excess calcium can also create a number of health issues, especially if not balanced out by sufficient magnesium. The adverse effects of hypercalcemia include muscle cramps/spasms, mental fogginess, high blood pressure, constipation, etc.

[jammies]

I've always been a fan of the D3/K2/Magnesium idea - in that if they are sufficient we absorb enough calcium from food. I have been mostly diary free for the last 2 years and assume the regular consumption of bone stocks were plenty of calcium.

However, lately I have started craving dairy like a crazy person. I have been drinking actual glasses of milk and putting cream on all sorts of things. I don't know if it is because i need more calcium or not. But the craving is quite intense - so I've been giving in to it.

[Oceana]

Make sure the canned (preferably wild) fish includes both the skin and the bones which gives it the calcium. Just mash it all together. You’ll get a great blend of minerals (including trace minerals like selenium) as well as good Omega 3 rich fats, several B vitamins, and vitamin D.

You can also have your calcium and vitamin D levels checked to ensure they're in the optimum range.

[Misti]

Awesome, do you make the bone stock naturally out of the bones from the meat?

I do. Whenever we eat poultry, the neck and giblets go into a stock pot of water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice while the bird roasts. After dinner, the bones go into the pot, too. It sits for about 12 hours at low temperature, then we pour the stock off and store it in the refrigerator. It's even better when we buy chicken feet to add to the stock pot, but we don't always.

Every meal has a little stock added, if only to deglaze the pan. Sometimes we add heaps of vegetables and make a huge soup out of it and eat soup for a couple of days. (To make it last longer, you'll want to take the soup you need for a meal and heat that up rather than putting the whole pot on the stove.)

[Omni]

Gnaw on the ends of the bones like a rabid dog, cartilage, sinew, soft bones have all the essential nutrients for strong bones, then, as said get a good dose of early midday sun for vitamin D.