Calcium without a doubt is needed by the body in moderate amounts to function normally. Most of your bodily stores of calcium can be found in your teeth and bones, because calcium is supposed to harden them like concrete or cement. That’s what having healthy bones and teeth mean. Healthy bones and teeth are hard bones and teeth. The problem arises when you consume more calcium than what you need. Excess calcium may go where it doesn’t  belong, harden what should always remain supple and elastic, and cause irreversible damage later on. Like in your heart and blood vessels.

Calcium is essential for cardiovascular health, but it may also be a precursor to stroke and cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction. Stroke and heart attack risks aren’t to be taken lightly, because sometimes the first episode may also also be the last one.

You want a strong heart, meaning a heart that will not collapse after strenuous exercise, or one that can withstand pressure in the workplace. You don’t want it to be healthy and strong the way your teeth and bones are. Parts of your heart and blood vessels become hardened when excess calcium accumulate and form arterial, aortic, or vascular calcifications, paving the way for stroke and heart attack. The trouble is doubled when there already exist oxidized bad cholesterol deposits or plaque buildup in the arteries. The LDL plaque hardens twice as hard and fast, making the ensuing cardiovascular event twice as lethal as well.

Calcium is very good for the heart, but not when it comes from cheap calcium supplements. The heart only needs miniscule amounts of calcium or parts of it get choked up with calcifications. One calcium tablet normally supplies 100% of the RDA for calcium. Then you drink a glass or two of milk that is fortified with calcium, doubling or tripling your total calcium intake for the day.This is one of the easiest ways hypercalcemia can occur.

The over-promotion of calcium as if it’s the most important mineral has also spurred millions to take a high-dose calcium supplement daily, resulting in hypercalcemia and  calcifications in blood vessels and soft tissues.

Experts like Dr. Carolyn Dean say that calcium deficiency is not the problem. It’s magnesium deficiency that is. Magnesium has the ability to dissolve calcification in the blood vessels, decreasing your risk for heart attack and stroke.  Vitamin K also regulates calcium in the blood and may keep the blood vessels free of calcifications. So ditch the calcium supplements and choose natural food sources instead. More importantly, don’t forget that calcium isn’t the only nutrient you need to be strong and healthy.

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• Written by Charmaine Mercado

  Charmaine D. Mercado, MA, is a freelance writer and researcher whose areas of concentration include natural health topics such as holistic nutrition, superfoods, weight loss, longevity, anti-aging medicine, supplementation, and various alternative healing protocols. Once promoting pharmaceutical drugs and highly refined and processed foods, she now writes about what truly cures and nourishes the body.

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