Magazines, television, radio, all contain advertising touting the great importance of adequate calcium intake, along with the calcium supplements they want us to buy. Yes, we need calcium, but do we need it in a tablet made from some inedible source, such as, chalk, eggshells, dolomite, or any chemical (carbonate, citrate, gluconate, lactate, phosphate) combination that is not synergistically sound? If it is not synergistically sound, it will not be metabolized competently by the body’s system; it is just wasted or worse.
There was an item in Medical World News about a surgeon who, thinking he’d found a malignant mass on an x-ray, recommended surgery. In the course of the operation, he realized that it was not a tumor at all, but a calcium settlement! How many people have undergone surgery or other invasive treatment unnecessarily because of such a misdiagnosis, which, according to the surgeon, occurs more often than he would like to think? Unmetabolized inorganic calcium can settle anywhere in the body, including the eyes, causing cataracts. It also combines with cholesterol to form plaque on the arteries.
It is no accident that calcium, vital to so many body functions, is one of the most plentiful elements in the food supply. Nature in Her wisdom has provided it in multitudes of foods – fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, etc. With the great availability of calcium in food there should be no need to take calcium in tablet form.
However, if blood assays show low calcium or if there are signs of osteoporosis, the problem could be an inability to metabolize calcium adequately, due to a weakness or hormonal imbalance, often in the thyroid gland, which is key to calcium metabolism. Hormonal imbalance has become a common problem today because of the ubiquitous presence of synthetic chemicals in our food, air and water that mimic estrogen in the body. This creates an estrogen/progesterone (hormonal) imbalance which plays havoc with normal body function, especially in glands which must release hormones to trigger vital processes. Hormonal imbalance has been implicated in creating low sperm count in males, fertility and menstrual problems in women, as well as the rise in endometriosis.
Thus, the increase in osteoporosis – generally assumed to be a result of calcium deficiency – is more likely a problem of hormonal imbalance, hindering the ability of the thyroid gland to properly metabolize calcium. More doctors now are recognizing that a thyroid test should be a routine part of the regular physical checkup. There is also concern that, though the thyroid parameters (T3, T4, TSH) may test within “normal” range, if results are at the very low end of the scale, that can be too low to maintain sufficient homeostasis.
If the thyroid secretion is inadequate, calcium tablets cannot be the solution to the problem; the solution is restoring efficient thyroid function. There are natural substances available to normalize the thyroid, such as thyroid glandulars (available at most healthfood stores), or Armour’s Thyroid (by doctor’s prescription). Periodic thyroid testing will show if the dose is adequate to achieving healthy normal range. These will do the job without the dangerous side effects of the usually prescribed pharmaceutical drugs, like Synthroid or Cytomel.
Ruth Sackman (1915-2008) was co-founder and former president of Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (FACT). She is the author of two books, Rethinking Cancer and Detoxification.
