Holistic Review M: minerals & calcium for bone & muscle health. Last revised May 1, 2008. (Minor changes Saturday, September 13, 2008.)

    1. Extra calcium is helpful for bone density, but not the only factor. 

Other equally important factors:

    *   Quality. Avoid calcium carbonate, oyster shell, dolomite or steamed bone meal. Give preference to calcium citrate, calcium bisglycinate, krebs cycle chelates, and raw bone flour.
    *   Timing. Calcium is absorbed primarily at night. Only take calcium with food, and only in the evening.
    *   Synergy. To prevent kidney stones, etc., never take calcium without chelated magnesium. Also take extra chelated magnesium without calcium in the morning. We believe that organic silicon (or horsetail extract) is also important, based on recent clinical trials and decades of popular use.
    *   Low protein ratio. Be sure to eat much more vegetables than your total of meat, eggs, milk products and beans. In addition, consider a fiber supplement, such as Colon Green mentioned in chapter D.
    *   Hormone balance. Women over 40 should test their hormone levels regularly. However, we caution against any unnecessary drugs. Both men and women over 30 should try saw palmetto or black cohosh supplements, and 25 mg. of 7-Keto, at least 3 times weekly. In addition, men over 40 should try ProstaCare. Women over 40 should try non-pharmaceutical yam cream. See chapter G for more information.
    *   Resistance exercises, such as moderate weight lifting. (See chapter L.)

    2. Moderate weight lifting may be more important for women than men. 

Competitive weight lifting is not very sensible even for men, and women are even less designed for such stresses. However, many women go to the opposite extreme, being afraid of any weight lifting because they do not want to look like a man. The fact is that even men do not develop extra large muscles without an extraordinary amount of exercise. For a woman, any reasonable amount of exercise only helps her to keep the shape of a woman. Also please consider that archeologists can immediately see if a bone is from a rich or a poor person, because a working person has thicker bones. See chapter L for our "LIFE exercises".

    3. It is a good idea to ask your doctor to test vitamin D levels. 

There is increasing evidence that vitamin D is vital for the immune system as well as for calcium absorption. However, Vitamin D may be over-emphasized as a calcium synergist. It is possible to take too much, and vitamin D levels can vary widely with each person. Vitamin D is not more important than magnesium, and an adequate dose might be supplied in your multivitamin.

Product guide m1: the most important mineral supplements.

    *   Chewable or Liquid Calcium-Magnesium Citrate, Krebs Cycle Chelates, BioCalth, Calcium-Magnesium Bisglycinate. 

The best calcium sources. We suggest daily use of 1 or 2 chewable Calcium-Magnesium Citrate wafers by Twinlab, plus 1 pill alternating among the others. This is a minimum dosage and your doctor may suggest more. (The best liquid calcium is by Liquid Health.)

    *   Krebs Magnesium and Potassium by Enzymatic Therapy.

The best chelated magnesium. One pill supplies about as much magnesium as in 2 plain magnesium capsules--plus twice the potassium as in other magnesium-potassium pills. (If however you have problems digesting tablets then we suggest Magnesium-Potassium Aspartate by Now Foods.) For more details see: Holistic Review of the best magnesium supplements.

    *   BioSil biologically active silicon from horsetail, in liquid or capsules. 

BioSil has been successful in improving calcium absorption in clinical tests. In theory this may also help to reduce any harmful calcium deposits. The label suggests only one capsule daily. We suggest you take this with calcium and magnesium, with evening meals. If you desire extra potency, then we suggest adding 5 drops of the liquid in the morning.

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