There has been mounting evidence for some time now that an excess of calcium supplementation can cause bone spurs and joint problems. Without sufficient magnesium to push the calcium into the bones it just floats around in the body looking for a place to go.
Now a new study of the effect of dairy products on the elderly finds that the calcium and vitamin D may be helping to cause brain damage and dementia. It does this by narrowing and stiffening the blood vessels in the brain.
When the team from Duke University in Durham, NC studied the brains of 311 subjects from 60 to 86 they found a significantly higher number of brain lesions in the people who consumed more calcium and vitamin D. Other conditions, such as blood pressure made no difference to the results.
Previously the same team had thought it was the fat in dairy that added to the brain lesions but now they have narrowed it down to calcium and vitamin D. The team reported their results at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, DC by study leader Dr Martha Payne.
As you probably have already read in my previous articles, I think that calcium supplements are advised for women who have Osteopenia and Osteoporosis in overly high amounts – with insufficient magnesium to balance it. Added to that is the fact that the cheap Vitamin D that is thrown indiscriminately into so many products now, is a synthetic D2, not the beneficial D3 that the bones need.
From my research I recommend 500 mgs of calcium, which you can probably get from green food, and 800 mgs of magnesium with the Vitamin D3 coming from a tablespoon a day of cod liver oil. And I strongly recommend giving up all dairy products excepting for a bit of cheese for flavoring.
I want to keep all my parts supple and strong as I age and that includes the blood vessels in my brain so I can think clearly, feel well and happy and be a benefit to others until the end of my story.