Some Facts About Calcium Supplements, Bones and Raw Milk

"Breast Cancer and Heart Attacks: A Deadly Side Effect of Calcium Supplements?"

	Grass-fed New Zealand cattle - The source of calcium on Dr. Ron's Cal-Mag

A number of studies have linked taking calcium supplements with increased incidence of breast cancer and heart attacks. An article titled “Breast Cancer and Heart Attacks: A Deadly Side Effect of Calcium Supplements?” recently appeared on Mercola.com.

Dr. Mercola correctly points out that many forms of calcium commonly found in supplements, including calcium carbonate, oyster shell, egg shell, and limestone, are foreign to the human body and may wind up in the wrong places and contribute to serious health problems. He also makes the claim that hydroxyapatite is foreign to the human body. This is patently false.

Dr. Ron’s Cal 1000–Mag 500 Hydroxyapatite Plus

Dr. Ron’s Cal 1000–Mag 500 Hydroxyapatite Plus has 1000 mg of calcium in microcrystalline hydroxyapatite (MCHC) in each six capsules. Our MCHC comes from free range, grassfed New Zealand cattle. The calcium in this MCHC occurs in the same natural protein matrix that occurs in the bones of all mammals, including human beings. MCHC is the best source of calcium, with the full spectrum of trace minerals that comprise healthy bone, and is cold-processed to preserve the protein matrix. X-ray diffraction studies have verified its crystalline structure.

The only form of calcium found in both our Cal-Mag supplement and our multi, Doc’s Best, is MCHC. Furthermore, our MCHC contains 20% of Type I collagen protein, the predominant collagen in bone. A lesser percentage, as found in other bone products, indicates contamination with unwanted components.

Six capsules of Cal-Mag contain 4200 mg of MCHC, yielding 1000 mg of calcium. We add 500 mg of magnesium, plus manganese, boron, buffered vitamin C and vitamin D from fish liver oil – critical nutrients for optimizing calcium absorption and utilization. MCHC calcium is the only supplemental calcium ever shown to reverse bone loss.

Is the Calcium in Raw Milk Also Deadly?

The Mercola.com article also refers to statements found in The China Study (a thoroughly misleading and misinformed book about the alleged benefits of vegetarian diets) to the effect that American women who drank two or more glasses of milk daily had higher fracture rates than those who drank one or less glasses daily, according to the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study. The implication is that the calcium in milk is harmful.

Ignored is the critical difference between today’s commercial pasteurized milk the nurses drank and the raw milk drank in many cultures throughout the world in the remarkable studies of Dr. Weston Price, as detailed in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. These raw milk cultures were healthy and strong. Bone broth complemented raw milk and other natural foods in building strong and healthy bodies. Interested readers might read my book The Untold Story of Milk, in which I detail the healthfulness of quality grassfed raw milk throughout 400 pages, with extensive footnotes. The Mercola.com article later mentions raw milk as a good source of calcium, contradicting the earlier statements about problems with milk. It is no wonder that many people find the article confusing. The title (“…Deadly Side Effect of Calcium Supplements”) and the gross misinformation about calcium hydroxyapatite make it appear that the intent is to malign all calcium supplements.

Cal-Mag Hydroxyapatite, Bone Broth, and Raw Milk Ensure Strong, Healthy Bones

I will continue taking my Cal-Mag, and recommending it to my patients and to our clients, along with bone broth and raw milk. These foods are especially important for women during pregnancy and lactation, for growing children, and for women in the years during and after menopause when osteoporosis is so common. There are no better sources of calcium.