Bone strength

[Velkar182]

I am moving toward a 2000 total and it has been recommended that I increase my calcium intake a certain %. That is one of the few things I don't pay much attention to. I know that I have seen people benching and suddenly break their arm, but is lack of calcium intake the problem? I am not using the juice yet, but if I do should I pay more attention to calcium. I just want to make sure that my bones can handle what my muscles do.

[powerliftmike]

I am moving toward a 2000 total and it has been recommended that I increase my calcium intake a certain %. That is one of the few things I don't pay much attention to. I know that I have seen people benching and suddenly break their arm, but is lack of calcium intake the problem? I am not using the juice yet, but if I do should I pay more attention to calcium. I just want to make sure that my bones can handle what my muscles do.

First, congrats on moving too 2000 total! To answer your question, yes you need a high calcium intake. Calcium is critical to muscle contractions and if you dont eat enough your body will 'steal' it from your bones to use for muscle contractions thus weakening your bones.

[Doc.Sust]

you also need vitamin d!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 if not your body will not absorb the calcium!!!, very important.

[Velkar182]

I am familiar with the importance of taking Vit d, magnesium and boron with calcium. Moreover, I am familiar with electric potentials in the muscle involving potassium and clacium. I was look for a more quanitative answer. I am not sure how much is enough to take in. I eat almost a pound of cheese a day made from milk, I take down a half gallon of milk a day and I eat 2 pounds of yogurt. I always assume (may be incorrectly) that this is sufficient for me. I am 310 at 5'8.5. My doctor is an idiot think that the amount of calcium I take in is more than the daily recommended value, and therefore I am going to kill myself. However, a resident orthopedist suggested I might be light on clacium, but he's not sure with a guy my size what kind of numbers I should be hitting.

[Kärnfysikern]

I am of the oppinion that the importance of calcium is greatly overstated. Maby even dangerous in the long run(atherosclerosis). Add some vitamin c around 5-6 grams/day along with the vitamin d and the calcium you eat will be absorbed alot better. Be more worried about the magnesium, calcium, potassium balance not overall calcium consumption.

http://www.tomlevymd.com/archiveissue9.htm

Although it appears from the early work of Weston A. Price, D.D.S. that acutely raising the ionic calcium levels in the blood can greatly improve the acute phases of healing in damaged tissues, this does not address what the long-term consequences of calcium administration may entail. In fact, it appears that the bulk of the scientific data supports the concept that the vast majority of the older population is massively overdosed on calcium and legitimately suffering from calcium toxicity. We continue to be stressed with warnings of increased risk of osteoporosis while the data clearly shows that most deaths in patients with osteoporosis relate to the vascular system and not the bones (Kruger and Horrobin, 1997). Furthermore, excess calcium in the coronary arteries, one marker of long-term calcium overdosage, is also directly correlated to increased risk of heart attack (Raggi et al., 2003), increased incidence of chronic degenerative disease (Arad et al., 2001; Christian et al., 2003; Kiryu et al., 2003; Wong et al., 2003), and increased degree of overall "all-cause mortality" (Shaw et al., 2003).

So, if you are a older chronic calcium supplement taker, just be aware that there are negatives to this practice. The chance of dying from an osteoporotic fracture doesn't remotely approach the chances of dying from a heart attack, cancer, or another chronic degenerative disease. Furthermore, it is far from clear that the traditional treatment approach to osteoporosis significantly affects the likelihood of a subsequent fracture. The scientific evidence, however, is very clear that supplemental calcium often fuels the progression of atherosclerosis, with the expected increased chance of heart attack.

If the above does not convince you that supplemental calcium, with very rare exceptions, should be completely avoided, at least start tracking your calcium accumulations. The coronary artery CAT scan should show no calcium. Check it. Your heart should not be calcifying. Check your ECHOcardiogram. Hair analysis should not show excess calcium. Check it. If any or all of these tests are positive for calcium, you should be especially concerned about dumping still more supplemental calcium into your blood and body on a daily basis.