Tag: cholesterol

Calcium and Colon Cancer

Calcium Helps Prevent Cancer:

The relationship between Calcium and Colon Cancer has been proven.

People who have an abundant intake of calcium-rich foods in their diets tend to have less colon cancer than those whose intake is less than 800 milligrams per day.

The RDA, or recommended daily allowance of calcium is 800 mg daily, but this amount seems conservative in the light of studies which show that a higher intake of calcium than this does protect against many diseases. It is recommended that you try to have more than 1000 mg daily, half of which should come from your high fiber greens, to help prevent colon cancer. Fiber itself , like calcium, performs a great function in controlling cholesterol levels and helping to prevent colon cancer.

Expectant and breast-feeding mothers, and growing teenagers, need a minimum of 1300 mg daily.

You get 600 mg of calcium per every two cups of whole-milk that you drink – nearly the recommended daily allowance. However, for those who cannot take milk  because of milk allergy, there are many other excellent sources of calcium which rate very well in their content. Dolomite powder is the richest, most concentrated source of calcium, beating milk by far. One teaspoon of dolomite powder contains about 2500 milligrams of calcium. This alone would give you more than the RDA.

The home-made calcium tonic which is listed below is nearly as high as Dolomite for its calcium and magnesium content.

One cup of broccoli yields about 160 milligrams of calcium. If your meal were to include 3/4 cup of baked beans, then you would have another 80 milligrams of calcium. All the brassica family contain high amounts of calcium. These are: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale. Parsley is also extremely rich in calcium and other minerals and vitamins, including iron. These vegetables also contain amounts of Vitamin C, which is also needed in order to assimilate calcium efficiently. Eating fruit after a meal helps the absorption of many minerals and vitamins, including calcium and iron.

You can see, looking at the high amounts of calcium in some of these foods,  just how easy it is to obtain all your dietary requirements of calcium through eating the RIGHT foods. Eating any of these foods on a regular basis, with the added bit of Dolomite powder, or a teaspoon or two of the calcium tonic, or drinking a cup of two of milk, will keep your calcium levels on the high side.

If your diet is too rich in fats ( but we DO need fats) or proteins, or grains, or cocoa/chocolate, silverbeet/spinach, or soy bean products, then you need to increase your broccoli/brussels sprouts/cabbage intake with your meal to compensate for calcium lost through these foods. Cocoa, spinach,  silverbeet , and yams all contain high amounts of oxalic acid, which latches on to calcium in the body, robbing it of some of the available calcium. However, the effect of oxalic acid in  greens like spinach and silver beet etc can be negated by eating baked beans, or an egg, or oily fish such as sardines or mackerel, with these foods. Or you could follow the meal with a glass of milk to counteract the oxalic acid.

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 falling directly onto your skin. A daily dose is beneficial. You can also get good amounts of Vitamin D from 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 help the absorption of calcium in the body.

Home made Calcium-rich tonic

This is really simple to make. It provides nearly as much calcium and magnesium as the equivalent amount of Dolomite powder. Crumble the dry egg shells of two free range eggs. Use a mortar and pestle if you have one. Put the macerated egg shells into a glass jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar and leave for about 24 hours. Keep in the fridge. Take a teaspoonful daily, or more often if you have a condition like osteoporosis, where more than a maintenance dose is required. The acid in the vinegar is neutralized by the calcium in the egg shells, so this combination should not upset those delicate stomachs which cannot normally take apple cider vinegar.

This tonic will keep for about a week in the fridge, after which time you should make a fresh mixture up. The egg shell powder is OK to take with the liquid. The cider vinegar begins the break down of the egg shell, softening it considerably, even after only 24 hours. The stomach acids, and your foods, will take care of the rest of the break-down it it hasn’t completely dissolved.

What Happens When Your Vitamin D Levels are Low

from Canon 266(1)Dramatic Photo By Lachlan

So – What happens when your vitamin D levels are low?

Vitamin D Deficiency can result in diarrhoea, insomnia, anxiety, nervousness and muscle twitches.

If Vitamin D levels are low over a long period of time, then you could risk becoming alcoholic, or drug-dependent, or suffer hypothyroidism or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Your Vitamin D can come from the sun’s rays, or from the food you eat. Supplements may be necessary in some cases.

Too Much Vitamin D Is Harmful. Be aware that too much Vitamin D can result in the same problems as those related to Vitamin D deficiency. You won’t get too much Vitamin D from the sun, as the body will only process what is needed from the sun.  But be cautious if you are taking supplements,  and follow the recommended dosage.  Vitamin D is stored in the body.  Too much can result in liver and kidney damage.

Vitamin D is necessary for healthy thyroid functioning. When the thyroid is iodine-deficient, or Vitamin D deficient, then mood swings can result.  So to keep balanced mentally and emotionally, we need a helping of Vitamin D.

Excessive weight gain and heart problems could result if  your Vitamin D levels are low.   The sun’s rays help us to break down cholesterol.  Avoiding the sun completely can result in a build up of cholesterol which can cause us to  put on weight.

You might avoid skin cancer if you avoid the sun:  People with low Vitamin D levels have a lower risk of skin cancer than do people who get plenty of sun. However, there is a catch-22 with this.

Low Vitamin D Is Related To Internal Cancers: Research shows that sun lovers with a higher Vitamin D get fewer internal cancers  than the people with the low Vitamin D count who avoid the sun. You are more likely to develop breast cancer, or another internal cancer, if your Vitamin D levels are low.

Can coffee deplete Vitamin D levels?

This is a commonly asked question. The answer is yes.  Too much coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, and many medications can lead to Vitamin D being leached from the body.

Bones and teeth and Vitamin D Deficiency.  On-going deficiency of Vitamin D and other nutrients can cause rickets in children, and osteoporosis in adults. Weak, chalky and sensitive teeth might be what happens if  your Vitamin D levels remain low over a period of time. Vitamin D helps us to assimilate calcium: even if your dietary intake of calcium is adequate, the calcium will not be absorbed in the body if your Vitamin D levels are low.

Arthritis and Osteoporosis Can Occur With Low Vitamin D Levels: If  Vitamin D levels remain low over a long period of time, the body will start to leach the calcium it needs from the bones.  The outcome of this depletion is arthritis and osteoporosis, and chalky teeth too.

Vitamin D is also essential  for healthy hair growth.

Other Necessary Minerals: For healthy hair, bones, teeth and nails, heart and brain function, we need a balanced diet which includes the trace elements of

Iodine, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese  and Selenium.

Be careful of the sun in the North Island of New Zealand.  It has become dangerously hot here since around 2011, the time of the dreadful Japanes tsunami and nuclear disaster, and many of us cannot go out into the sun for more than a few minutes at a time now.

I believe that radioactive particles from the Japanes nuclear disaster are now all over the world, high up in the atmosphere. Wherever the ozone layer is sorely depleted, more of this radiation is brought down to earth with the sun’s rays, which poses a risk of a form of radiation sickness.  Sensitive people will be prone to it. This could be a good reason to move to cloudy Dunedin, I feel.  Spending even 15 minutes in the North Island summer sun these days can result in headaches, sun-stroke or radiation sickness for me. Symptoms can last for several days.  I am very sensitive to radiation, so I expect that my reaction will not be a general one, although quite a few of my friends are now complaining of the same symptoms after several minutes of summer sun exposure.

The ozone-layer, which is sorely depleted in parts of New Zealand, means that we burn very quickly. If you live in North Island NZ, then before 9 am or after 5 pm is the safest time to take a short sun-bath for the purpose of absorbing Vitamin D.

Do not wear sun-block when you are taking Vitamin D into the body for health purposes. Sun-block will block the Vitamin D from being absorbed into the skin. Remember that if your skin is slightly oily, then you will absorb more of the vital sun energy – Vitamin D. So it is best to take your sun-bath several hours after showering, to give your skin a chance to restore some of the natural oils to the surface.

Applying a little olive oil, or avocado or grape seed oil, can be useful in restoring oily moisture to the skin before you take a sun-bath. Also remember not to wash directly after the sun-bath: the oil on the skin is still processing the Vitamin D from the sun for several hours after the sun-bath. Leaving your shower or swim for a bit will help the skin to absorb the valuable vitamins being processed.

The foods which contain high amounts of easily assimilated Vitamin D are fatty fish, fish oils, eggs, liver, and butter. Sardines, tuna, mackerel, and especially salmon, are all good sources.

Vitamin D is stored in fatty tissues, which means that it is stored in the body. Care is needed, therefore, not to overdose on Vitamin D through supplement additions to the diet.

The recommended dose varies depending on whether you get enough sun, how good your diet is, and what conditions you are treating, but a safe dose seems to be about 400IU daily for most people.

Some sources give between 400IU and 800IU per day, but it is better to be on the safe side. A large dose of Vitamin D over a period of about six months or less will cause many of the symptoms which you experience when your Vitamin D levels are low. Do not over-do Vitamin D.