Too much of anything can be a problem, and calcium is no exception. Calcium settling or being deposited in areas where it is not supposed to be has many different names. For example, excess calcium buildup on the teeth is tarter, in the joints, we call it arthritis, in the bursa, it's bursitis, in the lens of one's eye, cataracts. If it settles in the kidney, we have kidney stones.
Since the Food and Drug Administration has just increased the RDA for calcium from 1000 mg to 1300 mg, it’s likely we will be seeing more calcium-related conditions in the future.
There are three factors which may cause calcium to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. By saying it’s in the wrong place, I mean that calcium becomes displaced to places in the body where it does not belong. Calcium displacement can be caused by:
- The epidemic of gastric problems and an underlying deficiency of HCL.
- Not enough calcium as opposing minerals and vitamins.
- Systemic blood pH is too acidic, and since calcium is a major buffer, it leaves bone to buffer excess acid. Let’s consider some basic wellness principles that can help prevent calcium displacement, and how to restore and activate physiologic balance.
FIRST LET US LOOK AT “DIGESTION”!!!!
The majority of gastric maladies come from a “deficiency” of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, as opposed to “excess” stomach acid. If the chyme leaving the stomach does not have the correct pH, minerals are not cleaved from their substrate and ionized so they can be properly chelated, absorbed, and transported to tissue.
Too Much Calcium is Not a Good Thing
“There are three (3) factors which may cause Calcium to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” What about the “deficiency of opposing minerals that keep calcium in balance?"
- Let's start with Phosphorus, which is the second most abundant mineral right behind calcium. Calcium and phosphorus should be in an approximate 1-1 ratio in the diet. Increasing one without the other will cause the bones and teeth to breakdown. When calcium is increased, the mineral phosphorous is displaced. Eventually, phosphorus becomes depleted and will often cause the calcium to leave its suspension or liquid form and precipitate out.
- Magnesium is the second most important mineral compared to calcium. I may say so with studies that over 92% of kidney stones can be prevented by taking sufficient Magnesium and B6.
- Eventually some of Calcium’s other opposing minerals are Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, and Molybdenum. However, the opposing Vitamins are Vitamin A, B3, E, and K2. Deficiencies of any of these vitamins can contribute to Calcium excess. In the last few years, the relationship between vitamin D and Vitamin K2 has been brought into the "Excess Calcium Conversation" as well. If you have sufficient or excessive levels of Vitamin D, but you are deficient in levels of Vitamin K2, Calcium levels rise and are deposited in soft tissue and eventually line the insides of blood vessels.
- Also, Bone Matrix is weakened because the calcium which should go in the bones is deposited in other areas of the body instead. Systemic pH is a complex subject, and one for you and your clinician to discuss further, but balancing your body’s pH is one of the best preventative strategies to keep calcium in balance. And be sure to ask your clinician about your levels of Vitamin D and Vitamin K.
- Eventually please find out how to avoid Kidney Stones and other Calcium displacements, by enhancing stomach acid with digestive supplements. Obviously, we need Calcium, but if you have concerns, initiate a conversation with your wellness professional about "too much calcium" and how to find the balance. You can also reach me if you would like a consultation.
To Your Health!
