In April of 2011, nutrition researchers shocked the medical community when they published in the prestigious British Medical Journal , the results of yet another calcium and heart health study. Acc'd to the study, women who supplement with calcium to prevent osteoporosis are at a higher risk of athersclerosis, heart attack, and stroke than those who don't. Based on this research, for every bone fracture calcium supplements prevent, it precipitates two potentially fatal cardiovascular disease events. Such is the opening paragraph of the book I just read whose title is the subject-line of this email. The science is long and complex but very compelling. This was the 3rd, not the first trial to confirm this trend. The conclusion by the researchers is this: "Women! Do not take calcium supplements!" So, are we doomed to osteoporosis if we want to avoid increasing our risk of fatal heart disease events? No. The issue has been dissected and studied outside of the realm of that British study. That is what this book is about. Since no one reads past the 20th line of an email, here is my particular summary and approach: The reason Ca supplements (not calcium in our diets) can eventually wind up lining our arteries is because of modern man's shortage of Vit K2. (K2 is not the blood-clotting factor which is K1 and has a different job to do in the body than K2.) Where do we get K2? From fermented foods, (kim-chee, pastured ghee, natto, certain hard cheeses like gouda, and the butter, eggs, and milk from cows raised on grass only ---- all things we Americans don't get much of. Vit D helps the body to absorb calcium. If there is enough K2 in the body, the calcium goes into the bones where it belongs and stays out of the arteries where it does not belong. Vit K2 is likened to a traffic-cop. It directs Ca to go where it should go - the bones. Since I can't possibly know if my clients are using Calcium as a supplement ( SO many doctors tell women to take 1200 - 1500 mg Ca daily!! I have never sold Ca because I've always had a suspicion it has a dark side. I've only ever used "cal-apetite" which is raw bone - a whole complete food and acts differently in the body than just giving it the mineral Ca.) In any case, just to be on the safe side, I've decided to only use and sell VitD that has been complexed with K2 to insure that everyone has enough K2 in their bodies to prevent atherosclerosis as a result of too much Ca going in the wrong place. Whether or not you decide to take up eating natto or kim-chee! mary anne PS There is one butter sold here that should have some K2 in it: it's called KerryGold from Ireland and it is from cows raised exclusively on grass. So reads the label. |