CALCIUM ASPARTATE ANHYDROUS

by Jane
(Indianapolis)

I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and was told to take one of those horrible drugs for it. Because of heartburn, I refused the fosamax, etc. I was then told to try Forteo which I also refused, and finally the new IV drug which I also refused. Months ago I found a website talking about Calcium Aspartate Anhydrous. I have been taking the powder now for quite sometime. It does not require Vitamin D nor Magnesium to work. The website says to learn more than your doctors do about this and how it works. Do you know anything about this type of calcium? I am not so sure it is helping all that much. It however, is suppose to go straight to the small intestine and have the highest bioavailability to the bones and not wind up in other tissues like other calcium can do. I do however, have celiac disease so I often wonder if I am absorbing the calcium the way I should. If having celiac disease and on a gluten free diet, is it possible that both this type of calcium AND OR your protocol might not work for me? Jane


Jane,
Calcium Aspartate Anhydrous is better absorbed than most calcium supplements, but not as well absorbed as the calcium from algae in the MineralMatrix8. This is because algae calcium, or calcium from your greens, is food based and that is how natured designed us to get our calcium. The plants uptake the calcium and other minerals from the ground or sea bed, and transform them into usable minerals for them, and the animals or people that eat them.

There is nothing special about calcium aspartate anhydrous that directs it to bones and not other places in the body. Because it is better absorbed then say, calcium carbonate, and many other forms of calcium, it is less likely to get stuck in joints or arteries, and thus is better than most forms of calcium.

Taking calcium only with no magnesium is almost always a mistake. It ignores the research showing that when there are high levels of calcium and low levels of magnesium in the body, the body produces more osteoclasts which resorb bone, decreasing bone density. Increasing magnesium levels causes the body to produce more osteoblasts, which increase bone formation. In fact, the major cause of osteoporosis is this imbalance of excess calcium and low magnesium. So for most people, taking calcium only is exactly the wrong thing to be doing. There are some people, of course, who develop osteoporosis for other reasons, who do have adequate levels of magnesium. For them taking calcium only can temporarily help - until the levels in the body get out of balance which will inevitably happen.

We suggest using magnesium with no calcium for at least 3 months because this is the quickest way to adjust calcium magnesium levels in the body. This will more rapidly increase the production of the osteoblasts which will work to remineralize your bones.

If someone has adequate levels of Vitamin D and get out in the sun, they won't need any. If your levels are low, then you do need to supplement with it. Not only is it important for your bones, it is vital for your immune system, and just about everything else in your body.

Celiac disease should not decrease your absorption of calcium or our protocol as long as you are on a gluten free diet.

Good Luck!