Health Naturals

If you think taking supplemental calcium is only good for bone health, think again. Calcium is a multifaceted nutrient. It happens to be the most abundant mineral in our bodies. Aside from its well-known role in promoting bone health, calcium is important for maximizing enzyme activity, facilitating nerve function, and helping to regulate heart rhythm and muscle contraction. Low calcium intake has not only been associated with poor bone health, but may also contribute to poor blood pressure and even abnormal cell growth.

The benefit of calcium now appears to extend to a completely new arena, which is cholesterol metabolism. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine, 223 women were randomly assigned to take either 1 gram (1,000 mg) of calcium daily in the form of calcium citrate or an inactive placebo for one year1. Investigators measured levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol at the onset of study, and then again periodically over the 12-month period. At the end of the trial, both HDL cholesterol and HDL-to-LDL ratios had increased more for women taking the calcium supplement compared to those taking placebo.

On average, women taking calcium saw an increase in HDL cholesterol levels of about 7%. Authors indicated that this is another reason to encourage postmenopausal women to take calcium. Further studies are suggested to see if similar benefits are obtained with men, and whether or not calcium supplementation may affect cardiovascular health.

The Right Form of Calcium is Critical

When taking calcium it’s important to use the right form. Studies show that calcium carbonate has variable absorption, depending on stomach pH. Calcium citrate malate is believed to be most efficiently absorbed in the stomach and intestines. There may actually be as much as a 1000% increase in absorption rates with calcium citrate malate compared to other forms of calcium. Evidence supporting the incredible benefits of calcium citrate malate was published on September 4, 1997 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine2. Several hundred elderly patients were studied. Half were given 500 mg elemental calcium citrate malate with 700 IU vitamin D, and the other half was given placebo. The results were excellent.

Calcium/vitamin D supplements improved bone health and appeared to reduce fracture rates by more than 50%. In addition, certain forms of calcium other than calcium citrate malate may contain toxic heavy metals. The worst offenders are carbonate (especially oyster shells, a common form). It’s very important to take magnesium in addition to calcium supplements. Most people consume only about half of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)/Daily Values (DV) of magnesium in their diets. Low levels of magnesium may lead to poor bone and cardiovascular health.

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Citric acid, although acid in its fresh form (lemon and limes) transforms during metabolism into alkali. This is helpful to your blood. Our American diet tends to be overly acidic from coffee, sodas, alcohol, and certain proteins. An acidic condition tends to be more inflammatory.

Citric acid is essential to the Krebs cycle, Citric acid, together with malic acid, are involved with complex chemical actions, resulting in the production of carbon dioxide, and its removal from the cells. Citric acid is also used as a natural preservative to maintain freshness of many products, and serves this role, as well, in the Hypercet BPF. Citric Acid is a naturally occurring substance with no known side effects.

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Chromium is an essential trace mineral first discovered in 1955. Although our bodies contain only a few milligrams, even this tiny amount is critical for regulating insulin and blood sugar levels, as well as activating enzymes essential for energy production. We get chromium through food, primarily yeast, grains, nuts, prunes, potatoes, and seafood. But we don’t get enough overall; many Americans are deficient in chromium. One reason is that diets high in refined sugar leach chromium right out of us. Recent studies find that supplementing with chromium may not only lower cholesterol but also help stabilize blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. Thus, it may be particularly beneficial to people with metabolic syndrome or diabetes.

What the research shows: In one small study of 28 people, those taking 200 micrograms of chromium daily for 42 days had significant decreases in both total cholesterol and LDL, decreases that didn’t occur when they took a placebo. At least eight other studies have found that chromium supplementation improved cholesterol. And numerous studies found supplementing with at least 400 micrograms of chromium improved fasting glucose levels, a sign of improved insulin sensitivity. Be aware that chromium may take several weeks or even months to yield results.

Who should take it: People with metabolic syndrome or diabetes, as well as anyone susceptible to chromium deficiency (including athletes, the elderly, and people who follow diets high in refined sugar).

Recommended dose: 200 to 400 micrograms a day in divided doses for people with insulin resistance; 400 to 1,000 micrograms a day in divided doses for people with diabetes. Use chromium picolinate as your source. For everyone else the amount in a multivitamin should be sufficient.

Warnings/contraindications: If you have diabetes, check with your doctor; taking chromium may alter your requirements for insulin or other diabetes medication.

Source: Readers Digest

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Blood pressure (strictly speaking: vascular pressure) refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs. The pressure of the circulating blood decreases as blood moves through arteries, arterioles, capillaries, and veins; the term blood pressure generally refers to arterial pressure, i.e., the pressure in the larger arteries, arteries being the blood vessels which take blood away from the heart. Arterial pressure is most commonly measured via a sphygmomanometer, which uses the height of a column of mercury to reflect the circulating pressure (see Non-invasive measurement). Although many modern vascular pressure devices no longer use mercury, vascular pressure values are still universally reported in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).

The systolic arterial pressure is defined as the peak pressure in the arteries, which occurs near the beginning of the cardiac cycle; the diastolic arterial pressure is the lowest pressure (at the resting phase of the cardiac cycle). The average pressure throughout the cardiac cycle is reported as mean arterial pressure; the pulse pressure reflects the difference between the maximum and minimum pressures measured.

Typical values for a resting, healthy adult human are approximately 120 mmHg (16 kPa) systolic and 80 mmHg (11 kPa) diastolic (written as 120/80 mmHg, and spoken as “one twenty over eighty”) with large individual variations. These measures of arterial pressure are not static, but undergo natural variations from one heartbeat to another and throughout the day (in a circadian rhythm); they also change in response to stress, nutritional factors, drugs, or disease. Hypertension refers to arterial pressure being abnormally high, as opposed to hypotension, when it is abnormally low. Along with body temperature, blood pressure measurements are the most commonly measured physiological parameters.

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