Wow! I just watched a TV show that was the best thing I've heard since Atkins!

I just had to tell you. The man was Bob Barefoot and he was talking about calcium. He basically said that calcium can cure anything that is wrong with you and can actually cure cancer.

He said that when a body gets too much acid, it is the acid that causes diseases and calcium is needed to neutralize the acids.

Acid in the bowels causes food not to be digested properly because of the fact that it kills good bacteria. This causes consipation and other intestinal problems.

Acid in the ateries causes tiny holes and rough spots where the cholesterol will stick and cause hardening of the arteries and that in turn causes small cracks which again gather cholesterol. So, calcium neutralizes acid in the blood and won't cause those problems.

He said calcium will stop muscle and joint pain. He said that DNA is meant to rebuild things that are damaged in your body and that it must be bathed in calcium in order to work.

He suggests taking 3 calcium tablets a day. Not to use dairy as a calcium source because of the lactic acids in the dairy.

Very interesting. I will begin calcium and see if I feel better. Maybe I can live to 120 like he said humans should if they take care of themselves.

Interesting!

Wouldn't 120 be a blast?!! Let's see
First 20 years - growing up and goofing off
Next 40 years - working
Next 60 years - retired, growing up and goofing off again.

Now there's a plan!

That sounds to me like one more point for Tums too. And I just found sugar-free Tums. I know most of us stop having problems with reflux when low-carbing, but I am still having problems and it's probably because I have a hiatal (sp?) hernia. Things just keep gurgling up . But now with sugar-free Tums, I don't have to worry about needing to take it, especially since it's the only antacid that seems to help (that and Zantac at night).

Thanks, Atrsy!

;-Deb

Who's Bob Barefoot?

Wa'il

This guy sounds like a total quack. He runs an MLM company selling Okinawan calcium. He credits Okinawan longevity and total absence of cancer (wrong- there's plenty of cancer there) to their magical coral calcium. He's a chemist, but obviously knows nothing about how the human body works. If he did, he'd know that you *can't* change your blood pH. If you did, you'd die. Your body keeps it within a very narrow range. Food and suppliments can't change it, unless you massively overdosed. He throws around the word "acidosis" totally out of context: if you have acidosis, you're having a life-threatening metabolic emergency.

If it sounds too good to be true ...

Isn't it true as well that too much calcium can lead to things like gall stones, or kidney stones, or some kind of stones?

My mom was taking TUMS for calcium years ago, and she developed a stone. Not fun.

And if what Kristine says is true:

then we know why he's saying that it can cure cancer, huh?

What a shame... I'd love to live to be well over a hundred. Just think of things we would see!!!

You've got the right guy, Kristine. He did write two books and does sell his coral calcium, but he said any calcium would work, it's just that his is better because it contains sea micro organisms that actually aid in the digestive process. He really didn't press his product like most infomercials.

I can see where the presence of too much acid can cause alot of problems. If it is killing the good bacteria in the intestines, it can cause the candida yeast. They are very strict on those diets about anything containing acid. Also, as Deb pointed out, it does help with acid reflux to take calcium.

Too much calcium can cause stones, but with the amount of water we drink, I think that probability is small.

For me it's worth a try. I've been to other doctors who I thought were quacks, but I tried their methods at a pretty penny! I even had a doctor draw a pt of blood from me, send it through an ultraviolet light and oxygenate it and replace it into my veins. He did this two x a week for 6 weeks. It was to help me with my pain. I was really in bad shape at the time and I would have tried anything to make me feel better.

I don't think a few calcium tablets a day could be that harmful and I will try it. I'd love to be able to walk normally and not be in pain.

After all, we follow Dr. Atkins when the rest of the world thinks he's a quack. It has taken him 30 years for people to begin to see he may be right. I do think the drug companies rule the government and their studies. As this Bob Barefoot said, there is no money in mother nature's remedies--you can't patent calcium or Vitamin C.

Atrsy...

I paid a visit to Bob's website and while he may have said any calcium would do on the infomercial, his website says quite the opposite. Only HIS calcium supplement will cure all those ills according to the website (it seems all other calcium supplements are too poorly absorbed, while his is 100% absorbed in 20 minutes, no less). Quite honeslty, I'm skeptical of anyone who claims that only their product can help you. A calcium supplement is never a bad idea, especially for women, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much on it being the cure for all evil diseases.

Ok, I've been "studying" nutrition for over 20 years and I think I've read everything there is about calcium also b/c I started taking it when I was 30 (I'm 49 now).

First, everything Atrsy said is TRUE. Perhaps the pH of blood doesn't change much but like everything else it can be out of IDEAL balance and, therefore, cause problems, if it didn't change there would be no need to measure it during a regular blood test. And in any case, acidity can happen at tissue level. More alkalinity in the body is better for health, a fact that is well established by ALL complimentary (or alternative) medicine practitioners. I even remember when I was little my mother bought this big book about diseases that had at the end basic nutrition and it pointed out which foods were acidic or alkaline and there is proof that excess acid in the body will cause a lot of diseases. But the key here is to maintain BALANCE.

Attn. DebPenny:

Contrary to the publicity to that effect, TUMS is NOT good as a calcium supplement, in fact it's the worst type b/c calc. carbonate is POORLY ABSORBED b/c it neutralizes stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) which is essential for calcium to dissolve in the first place, so it really defeats the purpose. It's not even wise to take it for indigestion, the acid is there for a reason (ie. digest animal proteins), you'd be better off taking enzymes which you can get at a healthfood store, or even Papaya Enzyme (you can get S/F). I was taking c/c because it was cheap forgetting all I'd read in the past and last year when I had my first bone density test found out to my desmay that I have osteopenia (precursor to osteoporosis). I also read in a nutrition book about a lady who ate Tums like candy and had a severe case of osteoporosis, so heed my advice and GET RID OF IT.

Among the inexpensive forms of calcium, citrate is better but there are other forms like aspartate, asporotate and gluconate which are even better (but cost more).

dizzyd:

For its proper utilization, calcium needs the right amounts of magnesium, vit. D and C, (among others...) otherwise the calcium can bind with other substances and cause kidney stones, calcium deposits on soft tissue and "tartar" on the teeth. Even when a person is not taking enough calc. if those nutrients are lacking whatever there is will not be used.

And last but not least, I read about a study that proved eating enough calcium aids weight loss. I once heard at a meeting I attended that minerals were the real health builders and vitamins are sort of like the helpers. Calcium happens to be the most abundant mineral in the human body.

Raquel, I know that! I was just kidding, but looking back it didn't sound that way.

But I am currently using TUMS for my hiatal hernia problem that has been flaring up . I figured out why that's happening and it will be going away again soon, then I can stop taking the TUMS again.

BTW: What are the "right" amounts of magnesium, zinc, et al, that need to be taken with calcium? I am currently taking a cal/mag/zinc supplement and a high-potency multivitamin.

;-Deb

I would be interested in the correct amounts too...I take a cal/mag with vitamin D...Each Caplet contains...Vitamin D=100 IU Calcium=350 mg, and Magnesium (mag oxide)=175 mg. Is this okay?

The usual amount for a woman is 1200 mg. calcium and half of that of magnesium (but my dr. recommended 1500 for me, menopausal women need more anyway). Watch out for magnesium oxide (unless you suffer from constipation) because it will make you run to the B/R.

Although the MDR of vit. D is 400 I.U. it's really too little. Most nutritionist recommend 1000 mg/day. IMO the best way to get it, for those of us who are not too finicky (I still don't like the taste, mind you!), is in cod liver oil, I buy a flavored one and keep it in the fridge and a have either 2 tsps. or 1 Tsbp. a day. The added benefit is that CLO contains vit. A and the goodness of Omega 3. If the liquid is "out of the question" they sell it in capsules, just take as many as will make approx. the 1000 mg. Vit. C should be 500 mg./day or more if one's under stress or takes any medication (it gets used up in the detoxification of any substances in the body).

Let me tell you that I was very disappointed about the calcium carbonate myself because I too had bought the S/F Tums (or Walgreens equivalent, can't remember) and thought I was killing 2 birds with one stone, ha! Another reason for me not to have them is b/c of the aspartame in it. I loved my aspartame and for years didn't even want to hear that it could be bad for me... until I got sick and decided to avoid everything that could hinder my recovery! These days I use it occasionally, usually with a protein food to offset the bad "chemistry".

Thanks for the info, Raquel.

BTW: The sugar-free TUMS I bought recently uses sorbitol instead of aspartame.

;-Deb

YW. And, good, sorbitol is better.

Thanks for your support of my thread, Raquel. What the man was saying made alot of sense to me. That's how I felt when I read Atkin's book back in 1972--it made sense.

I don't usually follow everything I read, but if calcium can help prevent or cure disease, why wouldn't I want to try it?

I am so glad you posted the information that you did. The calcium I am taking, Caltrate 600=D, is calcium carbonate. I am almost finished with this bottle so I will look for the ones you suggest. At age 58, I don't want to cause osteoporosis if I don't have it. So far, I'm in pretty good health.

Thanks again,

Carol

I'm not sure I could take cod liver oil! Ughhhhhhh