The Calcium Lie: What Your Doctor Doesn't Know Might Kill You [Paperback]

The Calcium Lie
by Robert Thompson, M.D. and Kathleen Barnes
InTruth Press, c. 2008, 142pp.

What? We've been fooled again? Nutritional theories evolve and change over time as science learns more about the human body and its processes. Dr. Robert Thompson offers cutting edge information refuting the commonly held position of the importance of calcium, and lots of it, in our diet. Through his clinical practice, he has determined that an overabundance of calcium creates what he calls "The Calcium Cascade," a domino-effect of inefficient nutritional depletion that results in multiple metabolic malfunctions, including obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, anxiety, migraines, depression and hypertension.
Bones are not only made of calcium. Calcium is ONE of 12 minerals plus traces of many other minerals that are needed to make strong bones. He believes that we have been mislead by doctors, nutritionists, health care professionals and big pharmaceutical companies in the belief that we need more and more calcium. The simple fact is we need more MINERALS to create optimal functioning of our bodies' processes.
As soon as I read Dr. Thompson's book, I began checking the patients in MY clinical practice for the state of calcium and other minerals in their bodies. So far, 100% of them are presenting with mineral depletion and calcium overload! I'm recommending they discontinue any calcium supplements they may be taking and start a regimen of daily mineral tablets to replace these essential minerals in their system. It takes time to replace the minerals, yet simply removing the extra calcium begins to make positive health changes that are quickly noticeable.
I strongly recommend this book to all health care professionals and consumers who care about nutrition and well-being. Inform yourself and get off the calcium bandwagon!

"Some" in the title for my review is an important word and is the reason I gave the book a four instead of a five star review. I have long held the author's belief that bones are not just made up of one mineral, but numerous minerals that work in cooperation with each other. They are called synergistic co-factors. Every mineral also needs to be present in its proper ratio to have maximum effectiveness. For example many experts will tell you that you need a two to one ratio of magnesium to calcium. Some experts contend that it should be one to one. I agree with that ratio. I also agree with Dr. Thompson that you need the proper minerals for vitamins to do their job. And last, but definitely not least, synthetic supplements are drugs. For example, vitamin C has way more nutrients than you find in a vitamin pill, which is most often ascorbic acid. Our bodies need all the different vitamin C components for it to effectively nourish them. With only one or a few components present, supplements act like a drug. Our marvelous Creator packed natural food with so many needful nutrients that scientists have only discovered a few of them.

I have also had a hair mineral analysis done and very highly recommend it. I was tired and not feeling the best and went to the doctor. She preformed a CBC (Complete Blood Count), along with a vitamin D check and a couple of other tests. They showed nothing amiss, except for slightly elevated cholesterol levels, which my chiropractor said were well within the normal range. I then went to my chiropractor and had a hair mineral analysis done. I was suffering from adrenal fatigue. The hair mineral analysis got me to the root of my long standing ailments and provided the necessary tools to reverse them. My chiropractor told me that a CBC will show something amiss only when you are almost dead. I paid $1030.00 for the doctor's tests and $54.00 for the hair mineral analysis. I have since had a follow-up hair mineral analysis and while still recovering am doing better.

Now onto vitamin D. I disagree with the authors that certain people should not supplement with this key nutrient. The best way to get your vitamin D is through the sun, but if you live in the middle or northern parts of the United States this is impossible to do year round. In northern Wisconsin where I live, it's hard enough to do it in the summer.The next best source of vitamin D is a high quality cod liver oil, such as Carlson's. Not all cod liver oil is high grade or fresh. If it tastes rancid that is because it is rancid. Also, as it is highly processed with many harmful ingredients, never buy emulsified cod liver oil. Another good brand of cod liver oil comes from Nordic Naturals. Both Carlsons and Nordic Naturals process their oils in Norway right after the fish are caught, which ensures maximum freshness. Also, I strongly believe in letting my food be my medicine bottle and cod liver oil is food, which vitamin supplements definitely aren't.

I also have a problem with the small amount of minerals found in the recommended ionic mineral supplements. Having osteoporosis, I have been advised to take at least 1,000 mg of calcium, which I firmly believed was way to much and so have refused to take anywhere near that amount. I would very much appreciate an accurate figure, not an RDA, as we are commonly given for how much of different minerals and vitamins we actually need each day. For example, the RDA for vitamin D, is 400 IU, which is an outdated figure. It is the amount needed to prevent rickets in children, not the amount needed to keep them optimally healthy. Also, bigger adults obviously need more of various nutrients than do children. For all of the useful information the book contains, I would recommend it.

I like to read about nutrition. I have been interested in the results of studies being published in the news about there being no relationship between increased calcium intake and the prevention of osteoporosis. I was looking forward to reading this book to fill in some of the details. I was disappointed.

The forward for this book was written by the CEO of Trace Elements Inc, a company that manufactures costly mineral supplements and costly mineral deficiency tests. The book "The Calcium Lie" is mentioned prominently on that company's web site. The authors of "The Calicum Lie", in turn, highly recommend the products of Trace Elements Inc throughout the book. At one point Dr. Thompson even writes that he would not trust mineral deficiency tests from anyone other than Trace Elements Inc.

Dr. Thompson's basic claims are that people do not need as much calcium as the USRDA recommends and that people actually get too much calcium, causing a number of common, severe, medical problems.

Dr. Thompson claims that this is all due to basic biochemistry which doctors ignore and that can be found in any basic biochemistry book.

Dr. Thompson hasn't made any arguments to prove his claims. Instead he floods the book by mentioning statistics and studies that are not directly related to his claims. This is a common tactic among flim-flam people and a common mistake among people who make weak arguments.

Additionally, the book has no footnotes or endnotes. The back of the book has *some* (very few ) references per chapter, but no way of looking up the precise references Dr. Thompson makes. A number of the references are old and also to other pop nutrition books.

The authors do not give any evidence for it being safe to use less calcium, they do not tell people how much calcium to get nor do they tell the readers how much of each of the 12 minerals that bones are made of to get.

The authors do tell people to use sea salt liberally when the Mayo Clinic is recommending that healthy adults limit themselves to 1500 mg a day. The authors do encourage the liberal use of costly supplements from Trace Minerals Inc.

The prose of the book reads like the marketing copy you can find on the packaging of alternative health products.