Well, it's official!

[Lesley]

My osteopenia and developed into full blown osteoperosis. I have always had big strong bones. I guess that's gone.
I have recently read that calcium can cause heart attacks in women, so I stopped taking it. Now I have to go back on it.. Without dairy I can't get to 1200 units daily through diet alone.
The NP told me to take citrate rather than bicarbonate.
Any input?

[ObsessedMrFixit]

My son cannot have dairy, and needs 1500mg of calcium a day, because he's in the bone-building stage of life. We give him Cal-Mag citrate per the recommendation of his naturopathic doctor. Calcium and magnesium are needed for strong bones, not just calcium itself (contrary to the "experts"). Specifically, we give him Cal-Mag Citrate Effervescent Powder. Can be had on Amazon.

[Eric]

Sorry to hear. It's certainly tough when dairy is not an option. Can you eat eggs? Our bones need more than calcium and there are a number of things to consider when striving for strong bones.

Vitamins A, D, E and K help our body get the most out of the calcium we consume. I would recommend cod liver oil, coconut oil and 24-hour bone broths for the calcium and complementary vitamins. Add a little apple cider vinegar to the bone broth while cooking to help extract all those goodies from the bones.

Our intestinal flora also plays a role in the production of some of these vitamins which can help make up for a lack in the foods we consume. Depending on if you can tolerate them, probiotics and probiotic foods may also help (homemade sauerkraut juice).

[Eric]

[quote="Calcium and magnesium are needed for strong bones.[/quote]

Agreed! I've heard good things about the cal-mag citrate. A lot of people also like Natural Vitality Osteo Calm http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Vitality- ... B001U39M5A

I know some who have avoided the magnesium supplements for fear that it will loosen stools (OK if you're on the C side of things).

[Zizzle]

I've taken cal-mag citrate with D3 for years, but I am transitioning to Jarrow's Bone-Up formula, which includes several other nutrients helpful for bone growth. These include zinc, boron, vitamin K and others. On Jean's recommendation, I'm also taking magnesium glycinate separately, which causes less D than other forms. Although...have you tried magnesium for your bouts of C?

Bone-Up was recommended by my Chinese Medicine doctor. It contains trace amounts of soy, which I expect I should be OK with.

The trick to avoiding cardiac and other complications of taking too much supplemental calcium is taking small doses throughout the day with food, to mimic the calcium you would normally ingest from food.

[JLH]

Thanks, Z. I have been a bit afraid to take my calcium since that news. Will take it as you suggest.

[tex]

Lesley,

I agree with the advice that you have already received that there no compelling scientific evidence that taking calcium supplements alone actually helps to diminish an osteoporosis problem. I believe that if I were in that situation (and I really wanted to make a significant difference (as opposed to just following your doctor's "feel good" advice), I would take a close look at taking strontium ranelate (in addition to supplementing with calcium and magnesium).

One of the risks associated with higher doses of strontium is diarrhea, but that may be beneficial in your case.

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/guide ... teoporosis

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/714870

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699648/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20533764

Tex

[Lesley]

D doesn't scare me.

Interesting suggestions. Thank you all!
I have been taking boron for years. And magnesium with calcium, though I stopped taking calcium for a short while, as I said. But not together. I have so much. I don't want to buy more until I run out.

Jarrow's - I can't do soy, so that's out. I will have to get the other nutrients in a different form.

Beef bone broth - have been doing that for a very long time, including the vinegar.

I like the idea of taking small amounts of calcium throughout the day. It's a question of remembering. I am not good at that.

I seem to be taking SO many supplements now. For omega 3s, the GERD, bones etc., etc.
And all of them are such BIG capsules. Hard to swallow.

[tex]

D doesn't scare me.

I didn't think it would.

Tex

[Leah]

I have read about how Calcium can lead to heart attacks because it leaves mineral "deposits" in the blood. The reason is because almost all calcium supplements come from rocks.... so basically we are ingesting rocks. If you google "whole food calcium" or something like that, I believe you can get to the info I am referring to. I took it for a while, but found it pretty expensive and just stopped taking large doses of calcium all together. But if you are worried about the heart health thing....

leah

[tex]

Yep, you know that white mineral that clogs water pipes, and water heaters? It's a real nuisance in many parts of the country. Guess what that is. You guessed it — it's mostly calcium. So if we don't get enough calcium in our diet, we should make up for it if we drink tap water.

Personally, I never worry about calcium intake, and I'd be uneasy about taking a substantial calcium supplement. A lot of foods are fortified with calcium these days, so believe it or not, it isn't easy to find foods that don't contain calcium. In fact, if you were to set out to intentionally avoid calcium in your diet (as some people do), you wouldn't have a very easy job because the only foods that don't contain any calcium are typically foods such as oils, margarine, mayonnaise, popsicles, and certain types of candy.

That's why I don't worry about calcium intake, even though I eat a very limited diet, because my oil consumption is extremely low, rarely do I eat any candy, and my consumption of margarine, mayonnaise, and popsicles, for many years now, has been zero.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

oh my Lesley

like you needed another challenge - like i said on fb- some days are diamonds, some days are stone.

i dont have alot of spare time - apolgies for the bullet point type response!!
but wanted to share this with you

firstly - vit d3. You need good levels of vitd3 in your cells to absorb any nutrient (whether from food or supplement)
if you are taking cal/mag/vitd3 tab or liquid. you wont absorb this properly unless your vit d3 levels are at a good level.

Please find the moula to invest in bioceuticals Vitd3 sublingual (it has 1000iu per drop) you can have this on your tongue or in some water juice. at the moment i am taking about 6000iu per day!
If you need help to find who is selling it local to you, let me know OR Joe can get it and send it to you..


secondly - calcium. yes there is many forms/types of calcium.
our body needs a good mix of all of the calcium types. I sent an article to Joe about 6 months ago that explains this and what the mix should be. I am pretty sure he found a product that has this mix of the calcium types, and he also investigated getting a compound mix that would replicate this.
if you have too much of one or not enough of the other, it does have impact.

and like having it from food, you should have small doses through the day NOT big dosage at once (this will affect kidney and heart)
as i am taking heart/bp medication, have had renal impairement I have to be VERY careful in relation to calcium. and i have small amounts during the day.

When i have time to find the article i will send it to you. and prompt joe to join in as he has done alot of reading about this.

healing hugs from Aus

[Lesley]

Gabes darlin', thank you. That is very helpful.
I am taking sublingual and/or liquid vit D3 as it helps so much withe espohageal pain. I take a lot. When I take the liquid I can't see what comes out, but when I am sure at least 2 drops have gone into the glass I take it at least 2x a day. Maybe I need more.

As for the mix of calciums - I will message Joe because before I invest in any more supplements I want to know exactly what to get. I am always ready to rush out and get stuff, and end up having/taking so much! I need to make a list and see what everyone thinks.

Gabes dear, I hope things are not too tuff for you. You are such an inspiration to me.

[Gloria]

I like the idea of taking small amounts of calcium throughout the day. It's a question of remembering. I am not good at that.

I take one calcium pill with each meal. It makes it easier to remember for me.

Gloria

[Gabes-Apg]

this week i was diagnosed with chronic fibromyalgia. things have not been right since the house move early Feb, symptoms were getting worse day by day.
Hence my fb post earlier in the week 'some days are diamonds, some days are stone' I was unsettled for a few days. The fatigue, headaches, constant pain has made it a bit hard to think through all that is happening.

Thanks to the always awesome Polly, and wonderful Joe, i have got through the storm, we are in clean up reorg mode now, the rainbow is there as beautiful as ever and I able to believe that the energy filled pain free days are not far away.

Lesley -with the gerd, getting off nexium, and the inflammation with the C - i would increase to 6000iu per day
have you had your Vit D level checked recently. I am at a good moderate Vit D level and still need the 6000iu per day
if you are deficient you may need more for short time.