ABOUT CALCIUM:
Calcium is necessary for forming and maintaining healthy bones, teeth, nails and hair. Calcium helps to nourish the nervous system, which helps to prevent anxiety and keep your brain function up to scratch. Calcium is a natural tranquillizer.
Magnesium is Important: For the body to absorb and use calcium appropriately, it is important to include plenty of Magnesium-rich foods in the diet. The other essential ingredients for maximizing your Calcium absorption are Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K.
Health worries which may result from a diet with insufficient calcium are:
irritability, insomnia, and mental disorders,
irregular heart beat, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, numbness and tingling in the legs, muscle cramps, and slow blood clotting,
osteo-arthritis, osteoporosis, calcium growths, eye cataracts,
colon cancer.
Calcium helps to keep the heart muscle healthy. Lack of Calcium is linked also to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which, in turn affect the heart muscle: some people with these conditions have been helped by increasing their Calcium intake through diet and additional Dolomite supplements.
Adequate Calcium intake is thought to help prevent sunburn and skin cancer.
Milk is the best food source for calcium, although many people have an intolerance to milk. There is a link between protein and calcium absorption: It could be that some high protein diets consume large amounts of calcium in the digestion process, thereby robbing the body of the dietary calcium in Vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables. But the reason could very well be that people who consume large amounts of animal pretein simply do not eat enough of the Vitamin C-rich, magnesium-rich, fresh fruit and vegetables.
It has been found that vegetarians process the calcium from their food better than those meat-eaters do, which is perhaps why vegans, who often do not take any meats or dairy products, still manage to maintain
healthy calcium levels. Vegans and vegetarians might also be inclined to use Dolomite powder as a supplement: this is highly concentrated in Calcium and Magnesium.
However, Dolomite should be used in moderation, as it sometimes contains traces of lead and asbestos.
The RDA, or recommended daily allowance of Calcium is 800 mg daily, but this amount seems conservative in the light of several studies which show that a higher intake of calcium does protect against many diseases:
Peope who have an abundant intake of calcium-rich foods in their diets tend to have less colon cancer than those whose intake of calcium is less than 800 milligrams daily: Of course, the lower rate of colon cancer in this group would also be attributable to the high-fiber content in the foods which are high in calcium, with the exception of milk and cheese.
It is recommended that you try to have more than 1000 milligrams of calcium daily, half of which should come from your high fiber greens, to help prevent colon cancer.
Expectant and breastfeeding mothers and growing teenagers need a minimum of 1300 mg daily.
You get 600 mg of Calcium per every 2 cups of milk which you drink – nearly the RDA of Calcium. However,for those who
cannot take milk, there are many other excellent sources of calcium which rate very well in their calcium content:
Dolomite powder is the richest source of calcium, beating milk by far. One teaspoon of Dolomite equals 2500 mg of calcium, which, on its own, would give you more than the needed recommended daily allowance.
One cup of cooked broccoli yields about 160 mg of Calcium. If your meal were to include 3/4 cup of baked beans, then you would have another 80 mg of easily-digested Calcium.
All the brassica family contain high amounts of calcium: These are: brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and that trojan of vegetables, broccoli.
Parsley is high in Calcium and in other minerals and vitamins.
It is easy to see how you can make up your calcium intake just from eating healthy, calcium-rich, ,magnesium-rich vegetables.
Adding Dolomite powder to a meal ensures that your Calcium intake is more than adequate.
You might like to try the home-made calcium and magnesium-rich tonic made from egg shells: see the recipe below.
If your diet is too rich in fats (but we DO need fats – it is best to eat a range of the different fats, but of course, in moderation), or you eat a diet high in protein, or grains, cocoa/chocolate, spinach/silverbeetsoy bean products, then you need to increase your broccoli-brussels sprouts-cabbage intake.
These foods listed directly above can impair your calcium absorption if other foods are not used to compensate Calcium lost through the digestion of these foods.
Cocoa, spinach and silverbeet contain high amounts of oxalic acid
This latches on to Calcium in the body, robbing it of some food Calcium. However, the effect of oxalic acid in some food items, such as silver beet
and spinach, can be negated if you eat baked beans and an egg with these foods, or some oily fish, or follow the meal with some fresh fruit,
a glass of milk, either dairy milk, or soy milk, or a nut milk such as almond or cashew milk.
Remember to include Vitamin D in the diet if you are relying on vegetable sources for your intake of Calcium:
Vitamin D is necessary for the assimilation of Calcium in the body.
You can get Vitamin D from the sun’s rays directly falling onto your skin, and also by taking foods such as oily fish, cod liver oil, butter and eggs. Dolomite Powder, which has high concentrations of both Calcium and Magnesium, is usually enriched with Vitamin D to aid its absorption.
HOME- MADE: CALCIUM-Rich, MAGNESIUM-Rich TONIC:
Crumble the dry egg shells of two free range eggs into a small glass jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar and leave the mixture for 24 hours. Keep it in the fridge so that it does not spoil. Take a teaspoonful morning and night, or more if you have a condition such as osteoporosis where
you need to take more than a maintenance dose. The acid in the vinegar is neutralized by the calcium in the egg shell, and so the combination should not upset those delicate stomachs which cannot normally take cider vinegar.