Strong Bones or Osteoporosis, Part I: Beware of Too Much Calcium
By Earl Staelin
Americans have
been taught that they need lots of calcium, especially post-menopausal women who
frequently develop osteoporosis with the risk of spontaneous fractures. Older
men also lose calcium in their bones, more gradually at first, although they
tend to catch up with women when in their seventies. Adequate calcium absorption
and levels of calcium in blood and tissues are of course essential for all
children and adults for bones and teeth, and for women who are breast feeding or
pregnant. In the U.S. 10 million men and women have osteoporosis, a disease of
seriously weakened bones. One out of two women and one in eight men breaks a
bone due to osteoporosis. After a hip fracture one in five dies within a year.
However, excess calcium intake may cause muscle spasms, the calcium may appear
as unwanted deposits in organs and tissues, such as bone spurs or plaque in the
wall of blood vessels or in kidneys, heart, and liver, and it may increase the
risk of cancer and cause other symptoms, including migraine headaches, pain,
kidney stones, depression, and heart arrhythmia. Americans consume milk and milk
products as well as calcium supplements at one of the highest rates in the
world. Yet we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world.
Of course the goal is to have calcium in the right amounts in all tissues. But
how much do we need? Despite all that has been written about calcium, it is not
at all clear how much calcium humans need. This article will show that the
conventional wisdom about calcium, which a number of prominent nutrition
authorities reject, is faulty and incomplete, and that optimal health requires a
substantial revision of our thinking about calcium.
The conventional wisdom about calcium is embodied in the government guidelines
for vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. The current U.S. Recommended
Dietary Allowance (RDA) for calcium is: for ages 9-18, 1,300 milligrams
(mg)/day; ages 19-49, 1,000 mg/day; age 50 and over, 1,200 mg/day. In 1986 the
RDA was raised from 800 mg/day for adults to present levels. The World Health
Organization recommends 500 mg/day for children and 800 mg/day for adults.
Professors such as Willard Willett, chairman of the Harvard Nutrition
Department, T. Colin Campbell, professor emeritus of nutrition at Cornell
University, and Marion Nestle, chairman of nutrition at NYU, believe that these
current RDA’s are too high and are not supported by the evidence. On the other
hand Prof. Robert Heaney of Creighton University, Bess Dawson-Hughes of Tufts
University, past president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and a number
of other prominent experts stand by the current RDA’s. The calcium proponents
have the upper hand right now, with many doctors pushing calcium, and with
calcium being added to orange juice and numerous other foods to make it easy for
everyone to meet the RDA. The calcium proponents cite many studies in their
favor, some of them involving fewer fractures, so it becomes necessary to sort
out the apparent conflicts between studies.
The RDA requires that in order to get enough calcium people must consume foods
high in calcium, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, or take calcium supplements.
Leafy green vegetables, broccoli, and other foods are also moderately high in
calcium, but a person would have to consume such high quantities to meet the RDA
that this approach is not at all practical.
Despite all the calcium hype, in this article I will present evidence that in
general people who consume about half as much as the RDA’s of 1,000 and 1,200
for adults actually have fewer bone fractures and better health than those who
follow the RDA, and that high calcium consumption may actually interfere with
calcium absorption, result in weaker bones, and cause calcium to be deposited
where it is not wanted. I will then present a revolutionary theory that may
explain these paradoxical results and why magnesium and/or silicon and a number
of other nutrients are just as important for bone formation and preventing
fractures as calcium. Finally, I will show that hormone production is very
important for calcium balance and bone health, and present a natural approach to
improve hormone levels without taking supplemental hormones or drugs. First,
let’s see what some large scale studies have found.
A recent 12-year study of 77,761 women nurses aged 35 to 59 (the Harvard Nurses
Health Study) found that the quartile of American women with high milk intake
actually had 45% more hip fractures and 5% more forearm fractures over 12 years
from 1980 to 1992 than the quartile with the lowest intake.1 Approximately 98%
of the women in the total cohort were white. The quartile with the lowest milk
consumption and lowest fracture rate drank ≤1glass of milk per week, while the
quartile with the highest fracture rate drank ≥two glasses per day. Those with
the lowest total dietary calcium intake consumed ≤450 mg calcium per day, and
those with the highest dietary calcium intake consumed >900 mg calcium per day,
and had 104% more hip fractures and 8% more forearm fractures than the women
consuming ≤450 mg dietary calcium per day during the 12 years of the study.
(Those who consumed 451-625 mg dietary calcium per day had 102% more hip
fractures, and those who consumed 626-900 mg dietary calcium per day had 85%
more hip fractures than those who consumed ≤450 mg dietary calcium per day.
Women who took calcium supplements were excluded from this study. The subjects
were all registered nurses and the reporting of milk and food consumption and
fractures was deemed to be reliable.)
A 1994 study of 209 subjects and 207 controls in Sydney, Australia, found that
the one-fifth portion (quintile) of men and women over age 65 with the highest
milk product consumption, especially at age 20, had approximately double the
risk of hip fracture compared to the quintile with the lowest consumption.2 In
this study the quintile with the highest milk product consumption consumed about
11.5 units of milk products per week (glass of milk = 1 unit; serving of cheese
or milk on cereal = 0.5 units), and the quintile with the lowest milk product
consumption consumed one unit per week. The authors cite seven other case
control studies of the relationship between calcium and dairy product
consumption and the risk of hip fracture, and note that only two of those
reported a protective effect of calcium or dairy, one of which was conducted in
Hong Kong where the average calcium intake was only 171 mg per day. They also
cite D. Mark Hegsted’s article concluding that ecologic studies suggest that
populations with high calcium intakes (mainly from dairy products) have the
highest hip fracture rates.3 Hegsted, who was chairman of nutrition at Harvard,
in the same article wrote:
“It seems quite clear that we do not understand the etiology of osteoporosis;
the epidemiological data need an explanation, and something is wrong when
current explanations are inconsistent with general experience.
“It is dangerous to ignore the epidemiological data. The first rule in
formulating public health policy should be the assurance that the
recommendations are not detrimental. It will be embarrassing enough if the
current calcium hype is simply useless, it will be immeasurably worse if the
recommendations are actually detrimental to health.”3a
An ecological survey of women in 65 rural Chinese counties was conducted to
obtain dietary and lifestyle factors associated with health. The study,
published in 1991, found that the mean calcium intake in rural China was only
544 mg/day, about half the RDA in the U.S., while the mean bone fracture rate
was only about one-fifth as great as in the United States.4 A related study of
764 women aged 35-75 years in five of these counties in China concluded that
higher calcium intake was beneficial in increasing bone mass at skeletal
maturity.5 The authors noted that all of the women in three of the five counties
consumed no dairy products and therefore consumed amounts of calcium well below
even the Chinese standard of 800 mg/day, and virtually all of them over 50 had
bone mineral densities (BMD) <0.325 g/cm2, which the authors thought would place
them at high risk of fracture. But they found that these women were healthy and
had virtually no signs of osteoporosis. The authors said:
“However, the majority of women included in this study appeared to be normal,
showing no signs of osteoporosis, such as back pain and dowager’s hump, at the
time of the survey on the basis of a physical examination. Moreover, … <4% of
these subjects had reported a history of Colle’s [wrist] and other fractures
suspected to be related to osteoporosis during their lifetime. This fracture
rate is very much lower than those reported in studies in Western countries with
subjects of the same age range and similar sample.… Obviously, other factors
besides bone mass, such as daily physical activity and chance of fall, may also
be very important in understanding this discrepancy in bone fractures.”6
The authors also note that the assumption that these Chinese women with low bone
density have a high risk of fracture goes against the findings from other
studies showing that “incidence rates of hip fracture were much higher in those
countries where bone density was usually reported to be high,” and a study by
Ross et al.7 that “reported a two-fold lower fracture rate for native Japanese
and American-born Japanese than Caucasians, even though Japanese and other Asian
people were often reported to have lower bone mass than whites.”8 The authors
also state:
“In fact, analyses of the prevalence of hip fractures between nations suggest a
positive relationship between calcium intake and osteoporosis risk. Osteoporotic
fractures appear to be more common in the United States, Britain, and Sweden
where calcium intakes are higher than those in other countries.”9
In one of the five counties of this study in China consumption of dairy was
associated with increased bone mineral density and bone mineral content.
Individuals in this subset were members of a nomadic group where vigorous
outdoor physical activity (e.g. horseback riding) was more common. However, in
this subset consumption of more calcium did not result in fewer fractures. In
Part 2 of this article [to appear in the May/June issue of WBJ], I will discuss
the importance of outdoor light in hormone production and the formation of
strong bones, and the role of exercise, both of which may apply to this subset
as well as to women in rural China in general. One of the principal authors of
these studies of rural Chinese women, T. Colin Campbell, was raised on a dairy
farm in Virginia. For many years he accepted the conventional wisdom that milk
consumption produces strong bones, until long experience as a researcher,
including 10 years in China, convinced him that the conventional wisdom was
mistaken. Dr. Campbell believes that a largely vegetarian diet with relatively
low protein consumption is a significant reason why societies that do not
consume milk products have a history of many fewer bone fractures. The evidence
regarding protein consumption, which I will discuss in Part 2, is complex.
However, diets that exclude milk products also have substantially more
magnesium, silicon, and potassium relative to calcium, which may be more
important than low protein consumption in forming strong bones.
Thus, the American focus on bone density in studies of osteoporosis may be
overemphasized because it misses the main point, which is not how to increase
bone density, but how to make bones healthier and more resistant to fracture.
Increased bone density brought about by high calcium intake may make bones
weaker and more susceptible to fracture. This is not to say that bone density is
of no importance, as there is a general decline of bone density in adult women
after menopause and in men at a somewhat later age, which is associated with an
increase in the incidence of bone fractures. However, it is obviously not the
most important factor in bone strength. Until scans or other tests are developed
that have the capability to measure the strength of bone, it makes sense to give
greater weight to studies that measure fracture rates.
The evidence indicating that the current U.S. RDA may be too high appears to
relate to other areas of health besides bones and teeth. For example, studies
indicate that men with the highest calcium intake had an increased risk of
prostate cancer. In one study, men who consumed >600 mg per day of milk products
had 32% higher risk of prostate cancer than those consuming ≤150 mg per day.10
The increased risk occurred whether the calcium came from food or from
supplements alone, indicating that the risk was caused by the increased calcium
rather than something else in milk products. The prospective Health
Professionals Follow-up Study found that men who consumed >2000 mg of calcium
daily had a 4.57 times greater risk of metastatic prostate cancer than those who
consumed <500 mg of calcium per day.11 The authors concluded that the increased
risk of prostate cancer may result from the fact that calcium was found to
reduce the level of the active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH2D3), since vitamin D
is known to have a protective effect against cancer. Thus, the vitamin D in milk
(non-active form) was not protective or at least did not overcome the adverse
effects of the milk. Other studies have shown that the incidence of other forms
of cancer such as breast cancer in women is substantially higher in those who
consume milk products.
A very different approach to osteoporosis was taken by Guy E. Abraham, M.D., and
H. Grewel who conducted a study using magnesium therapy in 26 postmenopausal
women, all of whom were taking estrogen or estrogen and a progestogen. The women
were given dietary advice to (1) avoid processed foods, (2) limit protein intake
and emphasize vegetable protein over animal protein, and (3) limit the
consumption of refined sugar, salt, alcohol, coffee, tea, chocolate, and
tobacco. Each was offered a daily supplement containing 500 mg of calcium
(citrate) and 600 mg of magnesium (oxide). The supplement also contained vitamin
C, ten B-vitamins, vitamins A, D3, and E, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, boron,
iodine, selenium, chromium, and other nutrients. Nineteen women took the
supplement while seven did not. Bone density studies were performed on the
calcaneous (heel) bone, both before and an average of 9 months (range 6 - 12
months) after treatment was begun. In the women who did not take the supplement,
average bone density increased slightly, by 0.7%. However, in those who did take
the supplement, the results were dramatically better—an average increase in bone
density of 11%, a 16-fold greater improvement.12 This study was relatively small
and brief, and did not attempt to measure the incidence of hip or other
fractures. However, the results were much more favorable than the results of the
many calcium studies in postmenopausal women, which often do not report
increased bone density from taking high levels of calcium, but rather a slowing
of the loss of bone, or increases in bone density of no more than 2 or 3% per
year. Here with dietary changes and the use of a 500 mg calcium supplement (~42%
of the RDA), and a 600 mg magnesium supplement (~200% of the RDA for women), and
other nutrients, an impressive 11% increase in bone density was achieved in only
nine months. This study is consistent with research studies showing that various
other minerals and vitamins have a beneficial effect upon formation of strong
bones, including magnesium, silicon, zinc, copper, strontium, manganese, boron,
fluorine, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin K, and other
nutrients, although the study design did not allow a determination of the role
of any single nutrient in bringing about such positive results. The role of
magnesium and other nutrients will be discussed further in Part 2 of this
article. (In his study, Dr. Abraham did not use silicon, strontium, or vitamin
K, each of which has also been found to increase bone strength).
Several years ago I had occasion to advise a woman in her 70s about calcium
absorption. She was formerly a professional dancer and teacher of dance. I had
not seen her for some time until I saw her in March 1998 at a meeting where she
was in a wheelchair. When I asked what happened she told me that four months
before that she had been in a bad auto accident causing multiple fractures of
her right tibia (shin bone) just below the knee. She was still in a wheelchair
because according to her doctor her fractures were healing very slowly or not at
all, and she found it extremely painful and difficult to move her leg and she
could not put any weight on it.
I asked if she was taking supplemental calcium, and she said she had been taking
about 1,000 to 1,200 mg per day. I advised her to cut down to no more than 400
mg of calcium per day and to take at least as much magnesium. I asked if she was
taking horsetail, an herbal (plant) source of silica. She said she had not heard
of horsetail, and was not taking any silica supplement. I suggested that she
begin taking horsetail, as it is high in an easily absorbed form of silica
(Ionic forms of mineral silica are also absorbable), and low in calcium, and is
available inexpensively through health food stores and pharmacies. I advised her
to take about six capsules daily with meals, as recommended on the bottle (about
2,640 mg of horsetail per day). I explained to her briefly why that might be
helpful, and how it might also reduce the pain in her tibia. I talked to her a
week later and asked how she was doing. She said for the past week her recovery
was like “a miracle every day”; that her tibia was rapidly improving, the pain
was less, she was finally gaining mobility, and she was able to start putting
weight on her right leg by standing. She told me that she had followed my advice
and bought some horsetail the day I talked to her and had taken it daily for the
past week as recommended, and that she had also cut her calcium intake down to
about 400 mg per day, and was taking 400 mg of magnesium per day. She continued
this regimen. Within about two weeks she was out of her wheelchair and walking
short distances using a walker, and she continued to make rapid improvement.
Five weeks later she was walking with the aid of only a four-pronged cane, and
six weeks later she was walking without assistance and got a car and began
driving again. She said her doctors told her that her x-rays showed rapid
healing of her bone after the time she started taking the horsetail and
magnesium, and reduced her calcium intake. In contrast to her despair about her
condition when I first talked to her, she was in a very positive mood each time
I talked to her after she changed her regimen.
A second incident involves a personal experience. I was involved in a head-on
collision in 1995 when a drunk driver turned left in front of me. I had three
badly broken ribs, two of them completely severed and misaligned, a punctured
lung, and a bruised pericardium. I followed my own advice and took horsetail,
some magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids and other vitamin-mineral supplements,
and some homeopathic remedies. Four weeks and one day after the collision I was
able to play a vigorous game of racketball for an hour, accompanied by only
moderate soreness in my chest. One week after that I was able to play at nearly
100% without any discomfort. My physician opponent said he was amazed that I
could heal that fast.
A third case was an eighty-one-year-old woman who fell and fractured her wrist
in July 2000. Two months later it was not healing well, so in September I
advised her to take supplemental horsetail. She took two capsules of the herb
three times per day for a week, then one capsule three times per day. Five weeks
later her doctors reported that her x-rays showed complete healing.
Every one of the approximately six persons with similar problems to whom I have
given the same advice to take horsetail and in some cases to take magnesium and
reduce calcium intake has experienced the same rapid healing of bone fractures
after a long period of very slow healing or no healing. In one case the
orthopedist treating the patient used the word “miracle” to describe the sudden
appearance of rapid healing that began after the patient started taking
horsetail, as confirmed by her x-rays. That patient was a 24-year-old woman with
a congenital estrogen deficiency whose badly fractured tibia had not healed at
all in the two months before she started taking the horsetail. Her estrogen
deficiency caused scoliosis when she was a teenager for which she had a steel
rod placed in her back.
While these cases are “anecdotal” and do not constitute scientific proof,
scientific studies might be considered as large numbers of “anecdotes” studied
simultaneously with a control group added. What is remarkable about these
anecdotes is that in each case they match the results of controlled scientific
tests of the effects of vegetal silica (horsetail) in healing broken bones of
animals—that is, rapid healing of bone in those given horsetail, but very slow
healing in those given calcium. In several of these anecdotal reports we have
additional scientific support because four of the women served as their own
controls—that is, they had an actual prior experience of healing very slowly or
not at all, as well as experiencing significant pain before starting to take
horsetail, and thereafter they experienced rapid healing and cessation of pain
(I had not advised them to expect the pain to go away).
In science the “one person” study, where a person serves as his or her own
control, is recognized as valid scientific evidence, particularly when the test
can be repeated with the same person and same result over and over; that is,
when the results are “reproducible,” the hallmark of a valid scientific study.
Such studies have a major advantage over large studies with a separate control
group because everyone is unique, and in the “one person” study or “study of
one” we know definitely how each person in the study reacts to the substance
being tested, whereas significant individual differences that are very positive
and reproducible are often canceled out or blurred as “statistically
insignificant” in a group study that incorrectly assumes everyone is the same.
Many people can be similarly tested in “studies of one.”
In studies on silica and bone formation by Dr. Louis Kervran, the femurs of rats
were broken. X-rays show very rapid healing effects of horsetail on the broken
bones just 10 and 17 days after the break, and the very slow rate of healing in
control rats who received only calcium. In the rats receiving horsetail, after
just 17 days (10 days in one rat) the area where the bone was broken was
completely healed and actually more solid than the rest of the bone, whereas in
those receiving calcium the healing was just beginning.
If the conventional wisdom that high calcium intake strengthens bones is
mistaken, and it instead actually weakens bones and causes unwanted calcium
deposits, bone spurs, and an array of health problems, then how do we explain
these paradoxical results given that the dominant mineral in bones is calcium?
Where does the calcium in bones come from? How much calcium should people take?
Here it is helpful to keep an open mind as I present a revolutionary theory that
appears to fit the facts.
The conventional wisdom about calcium is based largely upon the theories of
Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, propounded over two hundred years
ago. One of these theories holds that chemical elements, such as calcium or
magnesium, cannot be changed or combined into other elements under the usual
conditions of plants and animals. However, Louis Kervran, a French biologist,
has done meticulous and extensive research demonstrating that there are numerous
exceptions to this theory in living organisms. Kervran was nominated for and
nearly won the Nobel Prize in physiology in 1975 for his work, along with
Japanese microbiologist Prof. H. Komaki, who confirmed Kervran’s results.
Kervran found through his studies that one or more elements would increase in a
plant or animal without an apparent exterior source at the same time that one or
more other elements would decrease without any appearance of such elements in
the plant or animal’s products. Lavoisier’s theory could not explain these
imbalances. As a biologist Kervran held prominent positions with the French
government and had an unusual opportunity to test such anomalous findings
related to workers’ health, and to conduct and publish precise research studies
proving that the apparent imbalances were real. He also carefully researched the
scientific literature and found that many studies by competent chemists over
many years documented unexplained appearances and disappearances of chemical
elements in living plants, animals, and soil.
After extensive research over many years Kervran finally developed a
revolutionary theory that he called “biological transmutations” to explain what
was happening. This theory holds that chemical elements, especially the lighter
elements, most often under the influence of an enzyme or hormone in living
plants and animals, can be combined or split to form other elements. His theory
has enormous potential because it is the first coherent explanation of countless
baffling imbalances in the chemistry of living plants and animals, including
humans, as reflected in well over a hundred studies by numerous distinguished
scientists, almost none of whom had heard of Kervran’s theory. In turn it has
major implications for the fields of nutrition, medicine, agriculture, geology,
horticulture, and others. While Kervran’s name is not widely known in the United
States he was highly respected in medical and scientific circles in France and
was on the faculty of a leading medical school in Paris. He was often called
upon to lecture to and explain his theories and findings to medical doctors and
medical students in France and elsewhere. Since his death in 1983, evidence has
gradually grown in support of his theories, although they have rarely been
directly tested.
According to Kervran’s theory of “biological transmutations” calcium is laid
down in bone primarily, if not exclusively, as follows: (1) silica combines with
carbon to produce calcium in the bone; (2) magnesium combines with oxygen to
produce calcium; and (3) potassium combines with hydrogen to produce calcium.
The molecular weights of the combining elements equal the molecular weight of
the resulting calcium. For example, silica has a molecular weight of 28, carbon
a weight of 12, the total of which together make calcium, isotope Ca40, which
has a molecular weight of 40. The atomic numbers must also match. Likewise, the
weight of magnesium, 24, added to the weight of oxygen, 16, also equals 40; and
the weight of potassium, 39, plus the weight of hydrogen, 1, equals 40. The
reverse reactions also occur, but each under the influence of a different
catalytic hormone or enzyme.
Kervran’s theory is supported by many carefully done studies by many scientists,
practical observations, the experience of farmers, and folk wisdom involving
plants, animals, and humans over many years. Until Kervran’s theory finally
explained the phenomena, chemists could not understand their paradoxical
observations and test results. For example, cows produce milk containing large
amounts of calcium, even though they don’t drink milk or take calcium
supplements, and they obtain relatively little calcium from the grasses and
other plant foods in their diet. However, their bones and teeth remain strong
and they don’t suffer any signs of calcium deficiency, despite excreting more
calcium than they ingest. Interestingly, they take in substantial quantities of
magnesium, silica, and potassium in the grasses they eat, and excrete less
magnesium than they ingest. Orthodox chemistry is at a loss to explain where the
magnesium and silica go or where the calcium comes from, because it is based
upon the theory that chemical elements cannot combine or be split except under
conditions involving large “nuclear” energies.
However, grass, cows, and other living things apparently do not follow this
theory. Logic would tell us that cows must suffer from a severe calcium
deficiency before long. Kervran notes that a good dairy cow, weighing 700
kilograms (1,540 lb.) and giving 30 liters of milk a day, would appear to
experience a substantial daily deficit of calcium such that 100% of the calcium
in her body would be used up in about a year, which is obviously impossible.13
However, the principle of transmutations readily explains why cows do not suffer
calcium deficiencies despite daily taking in substantially less calcium than
they excrete, because their intake of magnesium, silica, and potassium would, if
transmuted into calcium, make up the deficit.
In farming, many crops such as certain grasses contain a large quantity of
magnesium, substantially more than the calcium in them, even though there is
little magnesium in the soil, and much more magnesium is taken from the soil by
harvesting these crops every year than is added to it. However, farmers have
learned from experience that they often need to add lime (calcium) to the soil
to ensure an adequate cereal grass crop, and not magnesium. Careful measurement
of the large quantities of magnesium found in grasses coming from the soil would
lead one to expect that the soil would have no magnesium left after two years,
yet this does not happen. As long as lime is added to the soil, these grasses
contain plenty of magnesium, year after year, and there is no calcium buildup in
the soil.14 Under Kervran’s theory, an enzyme causes the calcium to separate
into magnesium and oxygen (Ca40 = Mg24 + O16). An alternative source of calcium
in soil is that earthworms produce large quantities of calcium carbonate, which
Kervran believes comes from transmutation of silicon and carbon in the soil in
which they thrive. Also, certain bacteria, i.e. the actinomycetes (especially
streptomyces), produce calcium from silica.15 When too much calcium is added to
soil, the amounts of copper and manganese decrease, and other imbalances and
deficiencies occur.
Kervran discusses minerals in grass and daisies as follows:
“To have a good English style lawn the soil must contain lime (calcium). When
the lime is exhausted, daisies make their appearance and the gardener knows that
to improve the lawn he must correct the soil. The greater the lime deficiency,
the more abundant are the daisies.
“Pfeiffer analyzed the incinerated ash of daisies, and found it to be rich in
calcium. He asked where it came from, since the daisies grew when there was no
more lime in the soil. He could find no answer.”16 (Kervran says when lime is
added, the calcium is transmuted into magnesium and oxygen, the magnesium being
abundant in the grass).
Pfeiffer also noted that buckwheat has a marked affinity for soil high in
silica, yet is characterized by its high calcium content. Kervran goes on to
state:
“Wheat likes a soil relatively rich in lime, but incineration of its straw has
yielded, for one soil, 6% of ash (relative to weight of dry straw) with a
content of 5.8% lime and 67.5% silica. On the other hand, when trefoil [clover]
was sown with the wheat in the same soil, the trefoil, which prefers silica
soils, had an ash content of 35.2% lime and 2.4% silica.…
“The oak is a tree of granite and schist regions (soils rich in silica where
lime may be totally absent), but the tree can have large amounts of calcium in
its wood and bark (up to 60% lime in the ash).…
“There are many such anomalies. One plant, the tilandsia, commonly known as
Spanish moss (a Bromacea), will grow on copper fibres without roots or contact
with the soil. Its ash contains no copper, but has 17% of iron oxides in
addition to various other elements which could not have come from the rainwater
supplied to the plant.… One could cite such plant anomalies at length.”17
Although the theory of biological transmutations challenges our present
incomplete understanding of atomic physics and chemistry, we should heed the
words of Claude Bernard, an eminent French physician and contemporary of Louis
Pasteur: “When one is confronted with a fact which is in opposition with a
prevalent theory, one must accept this fact and abandon the theory, even though
the latter, supported by great men, may be generally subscribed to.”18
Louie de Broglie, 1929 Nobel Prize laureate in physics, said: “It is premature
to reduce the vital (i.e. living) processes to the quite insufficiently
developed conceptions of 19th and even 20th century physics and chemistry.”19
Readers interested in learning more about biological transmutations can contact
Beekman Publishers, Inc. to obtain Kervran’s two books in English, which contain
much additional information and references.
Although calcium is absorbed into the blood from the intestines, Kervran says
that the bones tend to reject this calcium. And if calcium in the blood is too
high the body will reduce it. The most important route for calcium absorption in
humans and many animals appears to be the formation of calcium in bone from
silica, magnesium, and potassium. Under the influence of the parathyroid hormone
and other agents, calcium is withdrawn from the bones into the blood as it is
needed in order to maintain a constant level in the blood for other uses in the
body. Kervran concludes from the evidence that the excessive calcium consumed by
many people in their attempts to meet the RDA tends to accumulate in internal
organs and joints, where it forms calcium deposits and causes other problems. A
catchy mnemonic used in medical schools to help medical students remember some
of the more common symptoms of excessive calcium goes like this: “Moans, Groans,
Stones, Fragile Bones, and Psychiatric Overtones.” However, most doctors today
are so conditioned to recommend high and probably excessive amounts of calcium
that they are slow to recognize the symptoms of too much calcium.
Some additional clinical evidence in support of the above theory is provided by
doctors cited by Kervran. He quotes Dr. Plisnier of Belgium as follows:
“‘Children with retarded dentition receiving a normal amount of lime in the diet
(by classical dietetic standards) along with fruit, vegetables, milk, cheese and
meat, have had the retardation overcome within a few weeks when milk and cheese
(considered good sources of assimilable calcium) have been omitted.… The same
diet, poor in calcium, has led to the quick formation of a callus (healing
connection) in a fracture.’ Dr. Plisnier cites in particular a case of a person
over sixty years old who had a fracture of the neck of the femur. The classical
methods of treatment had failed to heal it, in spite of two operations and a
diet rich in calcium. A specially formulated diet, poor in calcium, brought
about a recovery.”20
In support of Kervran’s theory, no published research has ever been able to show
that calcium is present in appreciable quantities in areas of active bone
formation. As Kervran states: “In fact, calcium has never been found to enter
into the bones.”21 Dr. Edith Carlisle of U.C.L.A., perhaps the world’s leading
researcher on silicon, has stated as follows:
“Earlier studies suggested a physiological role for silicon in bone
calcification. In vitro studies showed the
unique
localization of silicon in active calcification sites in young bone.
Furthermore, in the earliest stages of calcification in these sites, when the
calcium content of osteoid tissue is very low, a direct relationship exists
between silicon and calcium. Neither the initiating nor limiting factor in the
mineralization of bone in the living animal is known.... Subsequent in vivo
experiments with weanling rats also showed a relationship between silicon and
calcium in bone formation. These experiments demonstrated that dietary silicon
increases the rate of mineralization; this effect was particularly apparent
under conditions of low calcium intake....”22
In her original research article in Science she states: “Silicon, a relatively
unknown trace element in nutritional research, has been uniquely localized in
active calcification sites in young bone.”23
How much silicon should people take? General recommendations vary from 500 mg of
spring horsetail per day for maintenance up to 1.5 to 6 grams for healing broken
bones or damaged connective tissue such as torn ligaments. Horsetail contains
much silicic acid and silicates, which provide 2-3% elemental silicon, or 20-30
mg per gram of horsetail per gram. It is regarded as essentially nontoxic at
normal doses. But, like everything, too much can cause problems, and some
persons may not tolerate it. Some research shows that horsetail contains an
enzyme, thiaminase, that destroys vitamin B1.24 Thus, anyone taking very large
quantities should either stop soon or supplement with sufficient vitamin B1.
Unrefined foods also contain significant amounts of silicon.
In the 7th edition of Present Knowledge in Nutrition (1996) the author states:
“Several published reports showed either no relationship or only a very modest
one between dietary calcium and cortical (long) bone mass. Garn et al. found the
same rate of loss of cortical mass in ≈5,800 subjects from seven countries
despite wide variations in calcium intake among groups. In fact, low calcium
intakes in some ethnic groups were associated with bone mass values higher than
those in groups with high lifelong calcium intakes.”25
Kervran believed that the evidence indicates that thyroid activity is involved
in the transmutation of silicon, magnesium, and potassium into calcium, based
upon research by others involving fish, though he felt the relation applies to
all vertebrates. Silicon, magnesium, and potassium increase the activity of the
thyroid gland, while calcium does not.26 On the other hand, studies show that
calcium may substantially reduce the absorption of thyroid medications. It may
be that by a feedback mechanism, high calcium intake may impede the production
of hormones by the thyroid gland, which in turn may reduce the formation of
calcium in bone through a transmutation of silicon, magnesium, and potassium. (I
have seen some indications that persons who suffer from hyperthyroidism may be
sensitive to calcium or milk products that interfere with thyroid function.) The
body then may try to compensate by an overproduction of thyroid hormones as long
as it is able, and then some years later the thyroid fails and the person
experiences hypothyroidism. A standard medical treatment for hyperthyroidism is
destruction of the thyroid with radioactive iodine. It would be prudent to first
determine whether calcium or some other food is responsible for the
hyperthyroidism.
Of course, as mentioned above, an additional factor is the evidence that high
calcium intake directly reduces the formation of the active form of vitamin D
(1,25(OH2D3), or cholecalciferol), which is important for bone formation.
Kervran discusses the counterproductive effect of calcium supplementation on
bone formation as follows:
“The chief surgeon of a hospital asked for my assistance when he found himself
confronted by a delicate case: a young man with bones broken very badly in an
accident. The classical treatment of Vitamin D plus a phospho-calcic salt failed
to bring about any improvement. However, the administration of organic silica
healed the bones rapidly. I could cite various other examples.
“At that time Professor Delbet had already arrived at the understanding that it
does not help much to ingest calcic phosphates. He wrote, ‘It is questionable
whether calcium phosphate is formed in the bones,’ and, ‘we do not know how the
calcic phosphates come to the skeleton,’ for calcium has never been found
approaching the bone.”27
In the first example above, it is not clear whether the vitamin D and the
phospho-calcic salt were discontinued or that the only change was the addition
of organic silica (probably horsetail). The use of bone meal would be comparable
to the use of a phospho-calcic salt, because bone is largely composed of
hydroxyapatite Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, a phospho-calcic salt. The principle of using
bone meal or a phospho-calcic salt to heal bones of course sounds logical.
However, even mainstream research finds that consumption of bone meal is not
very effective for forming bone. If in fact calcium interferes with calcium
formation in bone, such as through a feedback mechanism on the thyroid gland
and/or vitamin D, it would appear preferable to use vegetal silica instead of
bone meal or calcium, rather than in addition to it. The use of horsetail and
magnesium without calcium supplementation, or where the amount of magnesium
taken is equal to or up to double the amount of calcium, would appear to be a
prudent approach to healing broken bones, especially when the patient has a
documented difficulty with bone loss or poor healing of broken bones.
Kervran concludes from the evidence that transmutations are also involved with
the formation of phosphorus in bone. For example, as with calcium, a dairy cow
uses and excretes far more phosphorus than it ingests.28
In Part 2 we will cover the vital role of additional nutrients in bone health,
as well as other important influences on bone health, such as light and
hormones, that are usually ignored.
The problem of how to achieve optimum bone health and strength is highly
complex. However, a few general rules emerge from the facts that we have
examined:
1. An exclusive focus on calcium is not helpful and likely to be
counterproductive.
2. Many nutrients are important to bone health and strength. Accordingly,
avoidance of refined foods, especially refined sugar and flour, is important,
because these foods are very deficient in virtually all of the essential
nutrients.
3. The RDA for calcium is probably set much too high, and a level of 500 mg may
be closer to actual needs.
4. A readily absorbable silicon supplement is advisable, e.g. 500 mg horsetail
per day for maintenance, and 1.5 to 4.5 grams/day for healing broken bones or
soft tissue injury.
5. A broad spectrum multi-vitamin/mineral supplement (comparable to the one used
by Dr. Abraham in his study above) is recommended. ∆
This article is from Well Being Journal, March/April 2006, Volume 15,
#2 (out of print). Call 1-775-887-1702 for subscription information.
Part 2 of this article was published in Well Being Journal, May/June
2006, Volume 15, #3.
See all available back issues and article feature titles.
Part 3 of this article was published in Well Being Journal, July/August
2006, Volume 15, #4.
See all available back issues and article feature titles.
Earl Staelin, a trial attorney, began in 1976 asserting his clients’
rights to alternative health care. He was a pioneer in the use of nutritional
and environmental approaches for defense and rehabilitation/treatment in cases
involving crime and delinquency, child abuse, and mental commitments. He
graduated from Yale University in 1962 and from the University of Michigan
School of Law in 1966. In 1986, his outline for a dissertation on calcium
absorption, in his doctoral work in nutrition consulting, was approved, although
the university closed before he could complete the dissertation. Since then, he
has made numerous presentations on nutrition, environmental illness, health and
light, and the legal right to alternative health care.
Footnotes
1. Diane Feskanich, Sc.D., et al. “Milk, Dietary Calcium, and Bone Fractures in
Women: A 12-Year Prospective Study,” Am. J. Pub. Health, 87:6; 992-997, June
1997).
2. Cumming, R.G., Klineberg, R.J., “Case-control study of risk factors for hip
fractures in the elderly,” Am. J. Epidemiol., 1994; 139:493-503.
3. Hegsted, D.M., Calcium and osteoporosis, J. Nutr. 1986; 116:2316-19.
3a. Ibid., p. 2319.
4. T. Colin Campbell, et al., “Diet and Health in Rural China: Lessons Learned
and Unlearned,” Nutrition Today, May 1999; Vol. 34, i3, p. 116.
5. Hu, J., et al., “Dietary calcium and bone density among middle-aged and
elderly women in China,” Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1993; 58: 219-227.
6. Ibid., p. 225.
7. Ross, P.D., Norimatsu, J., Davis, J.W., et al. “A comparison of hip fracture
incidence among native Japanese, Japanese Americans, and American Caucasians.”
Am. J. Epidemiol. 1991; 133:801-809.
8. Hu, J., et al., supra, p. 225.
9. Ibid., p. 219.
10. June M. Chan, et al., Diary products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in
the Physicians’ Health Study, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2001; 74:549-54.
11. Giovannucci, E., et al. “Calcium and fructose intake in relation to risk of
prostate cancer,” Cancer Res. 1998; 58:442-47.
12. Abraham, G.E., and H. Grewal, “A Total Dietary Program Emphasizing Magnesium
Instead of Calcium. Effect on the Mineral Density of Calcaneous Bone in
Postmenopausal Women on Hormonal Therapy,” 1990, J. Reprod. Med. 35:503-507.
13. Louis Kervran, Biological Transmutations, a translation by Michel Abehsera
of three of Kervran’s books in French. Swan House Publishing Co., 1971,
reprinted by Happiness Press, Magalia, California, 1989, p. 68.
14. Kervran, Biological Transmutations, Beekman Publishers, Inc., 1980, and
1998, p. 60; orig. published in French, 1966; English translation by Crosby
Lockwood, 1971. This book also contains translations of excerpts of several of
Kervran’s books, and while there is overlap, contains much additional
information to that contained in the original Swan House Publishing Co. version.
15. Ibid., pp. xii-xiii, 87, 89, 91.
16. Ibid., pp. 25-26.
17. Ibid., p. 26.
18. Kervran, Swan House Pub., p. 154.
19. Ibid., p. 1.
20. Kervran, Beekman Pub., pp. 76-77.
21. Ibid., p. 74.
22. Carlisle, E. M., in Present Knowledge in Nutrition, 4th edition (1976) in
the chapter on silicon, pp. 339-340; citing her own research.
23. Carlisle, Edith M., “Silicon: A Possible Factor in Bone Calcification,”
Science, vol. 167, January 16, 1970, pp. 279-280.
24. Fabre B., Geay B., Beaufils P. Thiaminase activity in Equisetum arvense and
its extracts. Plant Med Phytother 1993;26:190-7.
25. Present Knowledge in Nutrition, 7th edition, International Life Styles
Institute, Washington, D.C. (1996), p. 251.
26. Kervran, Swan House Pub., pp. 147-148.
27. Ibid., pp. 143-144.
28. Ibid., p. 68.