- Is anyone surprised? NPR's medical advice guy, Dr. Zorba
Paster, once again publically prosecutes his complete lack of understanding
when it comes to supplemental & nutritional advice. This is most currently
evidenced by the following 2 ladies calling in to the facile fatuousness
that is Paster's PBS program, recently.
-
- To wit: The 1st women caller said she was taking 1200mg
of Calcium & Vit.D but that the Cal. was causing her some constipation.
She also said that she had heard she should take Magnesium to counter
these negative effects but she couldn't remember how much or what kind
they'd said she was to take.
-
- Zorba essentially said that for constipation she could
take "Milk of Magnesia." Reader! This product uses a very harsh
magnesium hydroxide that should be taken rarely, and only as a temporary
therapy, (read the label); however, his main recommendation was that she
try a couple of different Forms of Calcium, like carbonate or citrate &
to increase her Vit.D.
-
- Actually the preceding advice could help a little if
she changed from the inferior Cal-Carbonate (the crap in TUMS) to the superior
Cal-Citrate... but even that is not the definitive answer.
-
- Anyway, in a subsequent show, he told another lady there
was no difference between Calcium-Carbonate & Calcium-Citrate (there
is in fact, a big difference) and that she should take 1500mg of Calcium,
but, dangerously, he never even mentioned that you also need Magnesium
-plus several other things, for that matter- required for the calcium supplementation
to work in the first place!
-
- Gee, where to begin...
-
- 1..You never want to take a big wasteful and unhealthful
1200 to 1500mg single dose of calcium like Zorbie recommends, regardless
-assuredly if it is the inferior Carbonate-but especially not without taking
all the things necessary to help Calcium Absorption in the first place.
Unfortunately, these things to which I allude are not ordinarily found
in sufficient amounts in our modern diet... starting with an adequate measure
of Organically Chelated Magnesium. Chelated, by the way, means "Bound-To".
-
- Here are some common misconceptions regarding Calcium
& Magnesium:
-
- Misconception #1 - Virtually all combination products
of Calcium & Magnesium come at a 2to1 ratio, suggesting that 2to1 is
Mother-nature's desired ratio... WRONG!
-
- Even though virtually every Cal/Mag Complex will be at
a ratio of 2 to1, this is largely arbitrary and motivated by trying to
avoid the cause of diarrhea facilitated by their Complexes use of the inferior
Mag-Oxide. See, the truth is we need more good (in the appropriate form)
Magnesium in our lives! More & more of the top holistic practitioners
-like #1 rated mercola.com & LeafLady.org- feel the ratio should be
more like 1to1 or even higher! In truth, at a 2to1 Cal/Mag ratio, you
don't get enough Magnesium!
-
- This lower Mag ratio of (2to1) was started years ago
when most all Cal/Mag Complexes used the harsh (diarrhea-causing) INorganic-salt
forms of Magnesium... Mag-Oxide or Mag-Hydroxide as I said before. Much
of this Diarrhea-causing effect can be reduced by using an Organic Chelation
form of Magnesium, like Citrate, Kreb's Cycle or AAC (Amino-Acid Chelated).
-
- Simple Physics
-
- The Cal/Mag connection, like everything, actually, is
simple physics, reader! Calcium makes muscles contract & can cause
constipation if taken in large doses without adequate Magnesium to counter
same! This is especially true if it is the inferior Cal-Carbonate form
(the CRAP in TUMS). I hate the whole idea of TUMS; had you guessed?
-
- Magnesium, on the other hand makes muscles relax so it
can induce diarrhea! Again, if taken in large doses w/o Calcium, and especially
if Mag-Oxide or Mag-Hydroxide is used, diarrhea is often the result.
-
- Remember too that both effects (constipation & diarrhea)
are heavily influenced by what the actual Element -the Calcium atom or
Magnesium atom- is CHELATED to or Bound to... even though Dr. Z says "it
doesn't matter."
-
- For example Mag-Oxide & Mag-Hydroxide (the stuff
in Milk of Magnesia), being INorganic & not so readily absorbed, will
induce Diarrhea (D) at a smaller dose. However the other end of the spectrum
is Organic Mag-Gluconate which will not likely induce D, at all, unless
you took a tremendous dose all at once (w/o Calcium!).
-
- With this in mind, I recommend a Magnesium that is sort
of "in-the-middle"...Magnesium-Citrate. It is not harsh like
the Hydroxide found in Milk of Magnesia - but like all Magnesium, it will
loosen you up if you take a sufficient amount daily.
-
- In fact, the woman above should try a pure Magnesium-Citrate
Powder (a teaspoon at a time in liquid, throughout the day)... being in
a powder form will also help loosen the bowel more readily than a Magnesium
tablet. The powder tastes great in green, herbal, or yerba mate teas because
it has a slight citrus taste...in fact sometimes I make fake lemonade &
just throw a spoonful of Magnesium powder in with some Stevia or Xylitol
(sweeteners) & a quart of ice water.
-
- I would also switch to a more easily absorbed Calcium
that is organically Chelated like Citrate, Kreb's Cycle or AAC (Amino-Acid
Chelated). Additionally, I would avoid INorganic Salts like Cal-Carbonate
(TUMS) which destroy the very stomach acid that is needed in copious amounts
to absorb the minerals consumed, at all!
-
- So, I'm sorry Dr. Z ... there is a BIG difference between
the utilization of Calcium bound to Citrate as opposed to Calcium bound
to cheap Carbonate. On this issue the good Doctor needs to stand up or
step off...you see...
-
- (a)..Calcium-Carbonate is TUMS...TUMS destroys stomach-acid...stomach-acid
is needed to absorb Calcium... are we clear?
-
- (b)..Calcium-Citrate, on the other healthier hand, is
Pre-acidified... pre-acidified means it brings its own acidic-stuff necessary
to be absorbed - so it can be taken with or w/o food.
-
- Misconception #2 - You must have both Cal & Mag...
yes that is true... BUT -
-
- ...They don't have to be taken together! They only have
to be taken within the same 24 hour period.
-
- Consider, both Calcium & Magnesium compete for absorption!
If you take a Cal/Mag complex you must take small doses to avoid waste
by taking too much of both, all at once. I recommend 2 doses of 400mg
Cal & 400mg Mag. Of course, the problem here is that very few Complexes
come at this 1to1 ratio (400mg Cal-400mg Mag).
-
- See? You either have to take a complex at 2to1 ratio
(400mg Cal-200mg Mag) & then take additional Mag separately or just
take both Cal & Mag separately right from the get-go.
-
- There are a couple of Cal/Mag Complexes at a 1to1 ratio
in powder form out there, but they are rare.
-
- Misconception #3 - Taking more Calcium means you absorb
more Calcium...WRONG
-
- In fact, it can work the exact opposite. Taking a big
1000mg dose of ALKALINE Calcium, all at once (like I've heard Dr. Z recommend),
especially if you also take a big dose of ALKALINE Magnesium with it, will
rapidly make your body too alkaline, necessitating the kidneys to dump
alkaline minerals overboard so as to re-achieve chemical balance. Smaller,
divided doses are the key.
-
- I would also reduce the amount of Cal-Citrate from 1500mg,
down to about 800mg & then after a week or so of playing around with
increasing amounts of Mag-powder - you should -safely- get your bowel movements
to the comfort-level you desire! Don't be surprised if that amount of
Mag-Citrate powder turns out to be about 800mg to 1000mg... which is perfect
!! BUT, if it takes more...then take more.
-
- Consider too, taking those big 1500mg doses of calcium
(especially Cal-Carbonate) can actually contribute to Kidney Stones &
Heel-Spurs. So take less Calcium, BUT more of the things that help absorb
the Calcium you do take...like more Magnesium.
-
- FYI : One big advantage to taking Cal & Mag separately
(as opposed to a Cal/Mag Complex) is you can save about 400mg of Mag to
take, by itself, right at bedtime to help you relax, (remember Mag relaxes
muscles). Also during the night it will fizzle around the Intestinal Villi
lining your gut so you have... that "refreshing" morning "constitutional."
-
- Be prepared for your life to improve dramatically. The
above will not only fix the constipation problem but help you absorb more
Calcium to avoid Bone-loss! The extra Magnesium will lower your blood-pressure
and protect your heart & brain. More Magnesium is a win/win therapy.
-
- Diverticulitis :
-
- After decades of low-fiber induced constipation, a person
(like yours truly) can easily develop small Diverticula pouches in the
gut which never go away BUT may never be a problem if you keep the gut
clean with the aforementioned fiber & Magnesium.
-
- It remains, though, that if the pouches become perforated
& inflamed, it becomes the painful condition Diverticulitis. The
Mag-Citrate powder's bowel-cleansing, fizzle-effect is a good thing for
Diverticulitis or to just keep the Diverticula pouches clean if you happen
to have that very, very common condition, (most old geezers have them).
This supplemental approach with the best mineral form can keep these pouches
from ever becoming inflamed and then turning into full-blown Diverticulitis.
-
- In fact I think that a person should use an improvised
poor-man's bowel-cleanse, which is safe - actually healthful! In short,
about every 2 weeks you take an extra large dose of powdered Mag (optional
is a few grams of powdered Vit.C thrown in) to purposely induce Diarrhea.
-
- Everyone's "bowel tolerance" is different so
you might need to experiment with ever increasing doses until you get the
desired results. Don't worry about over-doing it, because if you take
too much, it will just "blow you out" that much quicker... but
it won't hurt you.
-
- The same thing CANNOT be said for the typical chemical
Laxatives.
- These chemical abominations can provide the situation
where your poor gut works properly ONLY when you take the chemicals...
how convenient for the laxative manufacturer, eh? This is criminal, in
my opinion.
-
- Finally, I would also take a double or triple dose of
Probiotics (beneficial Gut-Bacteria) for 2 or 3 days after a self-induced
Magnesium-Bowel-Cleanse... beneficial but not necessary.
-
- To recap:
-
- 1. Take LESS Calcium...about 800mg of something other
than Cal-Carbonate - like Citrate/Malate/Lactate/Gluconate/Kreb's Cycle
or AAC(Amino-Acid Chelated).
-
- 2. Take MORE Magnesium...about 800mg of something other
than Mag-Oxide or Hydroxide - like Citrate or AAC.
-
- 3. You also need many things not found (or too little)
in most Multi's :
-
- (a). More Vit.D-3 -- at least 1000iu, most multi's only
have 400iu. "GET MORE SUN AT HIGH NOON"
-
- (b). Boron -- you need 2 or 3mg of AAC Boron.
-
- (c). Silica -- about 5mg from bamboo or horsetail.
-
- (d). Potassium - take about 800mg in 2 divided doses
of 400mg.
- This is the equivalent of 2 small bananas. A person
needs between 2000 & 2500mg BUT you should not just take that amount
supplementally...it could be TOO MUCH & have a toxic effect...so 800mg
is a good compromise.
-
- (e). 70+ Trace Minerals -- I like colloidal Trace Minerals
with the toxic minerals, like mercury, removed. You need dozens of these
trace minerals as co-factors for utilization of Calcium.
-
- (f). A quality Multivitamin with all the rest of the
nutrients needed for Cal/Mag utilization.
-
- 4. AVOID... like the PLAGUE: Sugar, white flour, Soy,
TUMS & ALL carbonated drinks.
-
- Remember, your gut is your most important organ. You
can keep a weak heart ticking along with a perfectly-tuned gut & good
nutrition <<BUT>> it is difficult to keep a strong heart, strong,
for very long with a sick gut & the resulting poor nutrition.
-
- It's simple Physics, Folks. Really !
-
- Questions?
-
- Alan Graham
- alan068@centurytel.net
- http://www.alienview.net/ALLTCON.html
-
- That's enough. Well be.
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