I want to settle the calcium issue in my mind. I wrote a blog in June, but I kept reading more. Here is some of what I have learned:

• Asian and African cultures with low calcium intake (300 mg daily) have little osteoporosis.
• Vitamin K2 is necessary to prevent bone loss and most healthy adults are deficient.
• A study from Holland revealed a relationship between K2 and a lower incidence of calcification of arteries.
• K2 deficiency causes calcium to not be deposited in bones where it belongs but to be deposited in arteries, in soft tissues (including breast and kidneys), in feet as heel spurs.
• Calcification of arteries to the brain is felt to be a component of Alzheimer’s Disease. About 25% of people who have a particular genetic risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease all have low levels of Vitamin K.
• The problem is not too much calcium, it’s not enough magnesium. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood stream and in urine.
• If you don’t have enough magnesium you can experience muscle spasms, fibromyalgia, hardening of the arteries, or dental cavities. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium in the kidneys can lead to kidney stones.
• Magnesium has more to do with bone density than calcium.
• Magnesium relaxes the muscles; calcium tightens the muscles.
• High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and its role in preventing viral infections and cancer.
• Vitamin D3 may be better than other forms
• The classic Calcium:Magnesium ratio is 2:1, but some research shows that it should be 1:1.
• Acid substances tighten; while alkaline substances relax. Magnesium is alkaline and relaxes the tension, stiffness, and spasms, as well as headaches, muscle cramps, constipation, and heart palpitations.

Aaargh! The internet gives too much information. I can’t absorb it all, and I don’t know what to believe when statistics are in conflict.

Everyone my age worries about Alzheimer’s. Every woman my age is concerned about bone loss.

I am particularly interested in the idea of calcium in breast tissue, because my mammogram shows this. I blogged several years ago about being called back for a second screening when a doctor was worried about calcium deposits.

I decided to experiment with myself. I have been taking a lot of calcium at a 2:1 ratio. I’ve cut my calcium back to just under 1,000 mg per day. I changed the ratio to 4:3. I’ve ordered some K2, but it’s not here yet.

At first the results were not encouraging.
I’ve had muscle cramps in the night and a crick in my neck. Is this because I’m not getting enough calcium or because after years of getting too much my body automatically discards minerals? I’ve had a slight metallic taste in my mouth. Is that because I’m taking too much magnesium or because unnecessary minerals are leaving my tissues?

I’m going to give my body a week or so to adjust. I also want to see how the K2 works into the mix. I may switch to Magnesium Malate. I’ve read interesting things about how it is absorbed.

Knowing that every Blood Type has different needs and within the Types different people have different requirements, I’m working to come up with a plan that is better for me than what I have been doing.