Cures for calcium deficiency
*CALCIUM in the American diet is perceived as almost synonymous with the use of diary products. Unfortunately, dairy foods are generally not of good quality and perhaps this is one reason that Americans who consume large amounts of dairy (25% of the average diet), still have widespread calcium deficiency problems such as arthritis and osteoporosis
... EVIDENCE points to certain cofactors of calcium metabolism as the problem: calcium absorption requires adequate dietary magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C, and D.
In fact, without certain of these nutrients, it appears that calcium cannot be absorbed at all ... (page 177)
A MAGNESIUM-RICH DIET OF WHOLE FOODS
is generally a cure for these types of osteoarthritis
as well as most forms of calcium deficiency.
THE MAGNESIUM-RICH** FOOD GROUPS:
dried seaweeds -wakame, kombu, kelp, hijiki, arame
beans -soybeans, mung, aduki, black, lima
whole grains -buckwheat, millet, wheat berries, corn, barley, rye, rice
nuts and seeds -almonds, cashews, filberts, sesame seeds
high chlorophyll foods -wheat or barley grass, microalgaes: spirulina, wild blue-green, chorella
** see the book for other foods in this category (pages 178- 179)
Animal products - dairy, eggs, and meat -
contain the least magnesium of common foods.
While calcium contracts the muscles, magnesium relaxes them ... Of all drugs ingested, the majority are taken to overcome stress and neuromuscular tension ... Certainly a much healthier alternative to the possibility of addiction to tranquilizers, alcohol, or even chocolate is plenty of magnesium-rich foods in the diet --whole grains, beans and legumes, vegetables, seaweeds, nuts, and seeds. (page 178)
3 Traditional Calcium Soups (page 180)
-For convalescing patients or chronic health problems
barley sprouts (*or soak whole barley for 8 hours. Discard soak water) and kale
Simmer 10 minutes (*if whole barley is substituted - cook longer until soft and add kale at the end of the cooking process).
-Beneficial for the kidneys, and therefore for the bones
Beans cooked with seaweeds
-For the seriously deficient (frail, weak, pale) individual
Bones from organically raised animals cooked with acid vegetables to extract the marrow and various minerals. May also use whole fish such as sardines or anchovies.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCREASING CALCIUM ABSORPTION:
1. GET sufficient Vitamin D from sunshine - expose 20% of the skin for 30 minutes at sea level. If daylight hours are spent indoors; spend several hours outdoors on days off - avoid midday sun.
2. EAT calcium, magnesium, chlorophyll, and mineral-rich foods.
3. EXERCISE regularly amd moderately to halt calcium loss and increase bone mass.
4. *CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS can be helpful (unless you have a history of kidney stones) if basic diet is poor but include plenty of green vegetables and a high-mineral food such as alfalfa or kelp tables or a mineral supplement.
5. PRESOAK grains and legumes before cooking to neutralize their phytic acid content, which otherwise binds the zinc, magnesium, calcium, and other minerals in these foods.
6. USE oxalic foods sparingly -- rhubarb, cranberries, plums, spinach, chard, and beet greens - as they also bind calcium.
7. IF dairy is used, the fermented kinds digest most easily: yogurt, cottage cheese, buttermilk, kefir. Goat's milk products are preferable. Avoid skim milk - it is devoid of fat and enzymes necessary for proper calcium absorption.
8. IF there are signs of kidney-adrenal weakness such as weak legs and knees, low backache, loose teeth, ringing in the ears, and unusual head-hair loss, specific kidney tonics may be indicated.
*IF THE DIET IS NOT IMPROVED ...
NOTICEABLE CHANGES TAKE PLACE VERY GRADUALLY OVER SEVERAL YEARS ...
THE DIETARY AND HERBAL REMEDIES SUGGESTED IN THIS CHAPTER
SHOULD INITIATE MARKED IMPROVEMENT WIHIN A FEW MONTHS.
SILICON (page 185 - 186),
found in all plant fiber as silica is essential for efficient calcium utilization and for increasing bone strength. It is an integral part of all connective tissues of the body, including blood vessels, tendons, and cartilage, and necessary for their health and renewal.
SILICON-RICH FOODS:
whole foods chosen from grains,
vegetables,
legumes,
and fruit:
especially all lettuce (especially Boston and bib varieties),
parsnips,
buckwheat,
millet,
oats,
brown rice,
dandelion greens,
strawberries,
celery,
cucumber,
apricots,
and carrots.
SILICON-RICH FOODS
containing large amount of chlorophyll balance sweet foods especially lettuce and celery.
An excess of higly sweet products
- even of quality foods such as honey, rice syrup, and most fruits
- acts as a calcium inhibitor and promotes the growth of pathogenic bacterian and candida-type yeasts in the digestive tract.
MINERAL-RICH BROTH -
AN HERBAL FORMULA for improving teeth, bones, arteries, and all connective tissue and for strengthening calcium metabolism in the body.
1 part HORSETAIL (Equisetum arvense),
1 part OATSTRAW (Avena sativa),
1 park KOMBU seaweed or KELP powder,
1/3 part LOBELIA (Lobelia inflata)
Simmer each 1 ounce of formula in 1 pint of water for 25 minutes and drink 1/2 cup two or three times a day. At the end of every three weeks, stop using the formula for one week ... expect noticable renewal ... during one entire season ... ideally in winter... follow the calcium preserving suggestions.
ALFALFA ... a highly mineralized food balanced with a very wide range of trace minerals and enzymes ... seeds and leaves can be made into a tea; sprouts and tablets available in most food stores.
* excerpted from the chapter
Calcium, Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford c1993
"In the article on the B complex vitamins I listed seaweeds as a good food source. This is an introduction with details on why it is a good idea to add them into your diet. Seaweeds also called sea vegetables are a staple in my kitchen and I will not cook a pot of beans or soup without adding one of the many varieties of sea vegetables. Our ancestors have used sea vegetables world wide; it is a common food for the people of Japan, Korea, China, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, England, Scotland, France, Denmark, Wales, Hawaii, as well as many islands in the south Pacific. Native Americans and Africans have eaten sea vegetables as part of their regular diets." Julene Tripp Weaver
