Calcium Explained. What are the Best Sources?
Calcium is a mineral that is available from many sources, but, if you are like most people, you probably think of dairy products when you think of calcium. You probably also think of strengthening your bones and protecting against osteoporosis, or other bone degeneration. Most people have a basic knowledge of the mineral calcium that centers around dairy products and bone health and most of that knowledge comes from television commercials via dairy marketing.
But calcium does more than just give you strong bones, and there are plenty of sources, besides dairy, that give good doses of this much needed, important mineral.
One thing calcium can do, besides build stronger bones, is help fight weight gain from fat. When calcium isn’t present in the body in high enough amounts, your body thinks it is starving and begins to store nutrients. Getting enough calcium lets your body know it is okay to stop storing fat and start breaking it down.
Having enough calcium in your body is also important for the health of your heart. The same hormone, calcitrol, that gets released when the body goes into starvation mode from too little calcium, causes blood pressure to increase by restricting artery walls. When there is enough calcium in the body in conjunction with the correct amount of magnesium, all of your muscles, including the heart, are able to contract and relax normally.
For women, an added benefit of getting plenty of calcium in the diet is fewer premenstrual symptoms. The stress hormones that are released when the body is deficient in calcium, added to the similar hormones released in the premenstrual state, can increase cramps, mood swings, breast tenderness, and other symptoms. Women who suffer from PMS can get relief within two months by taking 600 mg of calcium twice daily. However, supplementation is not always the best answer. Fresh, whole foods are what your body is craving.
When it comes to cleansing and cancer prevention, especially colon cleansing and preventing colon cancer and polyps, getting enough calcium can be crucial. Scientists believe that, on its way out through the colon, unabsorbed calcium binds with and helps eliminate cancer promoters, or carcinogens. In this way, unabsorbed calcium passing through your system helps eliminate toxins and cleanse the colon.
And really, when it comes to getting enough calcium, dairy is not the way to go. Dairy foods may contain a high level of calcium, but that calcium is not readily available for your body to absorb. It’s just intelligent, albeit misleading, marketing. You can get plenty of calcium from dark leafy greens like kale and spinach, bok choy, quinoa, and from broccoli. A handful of sesame seeds provides your body with a surprising amount of calcium.
One tablespoon of blackstrap molasses gives your body calcium plus a load of other minerals. You can also get calcium from navy beans and dried figs.
Supplement forms of calcium are okay in an emergency, but they are not ideal. If you take a supplement, take less than 2500 mg a day to avoid kidney stones, and opt for calcium citrate, which is better absorbed, and take it in small doses all throughout the day. No matter what, you want your calcium to come mostly from food sources. Long-term supplementation is something that has not been adequately researched, so we do not know the effects it can have on the body. However, two recent clinical trials performed at the University of Auckland, combining 11 studies and 12,00 women – found calcium supplements to increased the rate of heart attacks in women by 31% compared to those who received a placebo.
Your body recognizes food and knows exactly what to do with the nutrients that come from whole foods – so get yourself on a holistic cleansing program and start eating your greens!
