Calcium is the only mineral to have its own regulating gland, the parathyroid glands (they’re the glands near the thyroid but they have nothing to do with the thyroid)! Parathyroid glands control the amount of calcium in the blood and bones. If it’s low in the blood, it will be drawn from your bones, hence the reason it is so important. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body.
Some of calcium’s main functions are:
1. To provide electrical energy for your nervous system. The way it does this is to provide the means for electrical impulses to travel along your nerves. Calcium is what your nervous system uses to conduct “electricity”, which is why the most common deficiency symptoms are nervous system ones such as depression, weakness, tiredness – it’s like a power failure.
2. To provide the electrical energy needed by your muscles, which really just brings us back to the nervous system as it controls the nerves that conduct the electricity into your muscles. In order for the muscles to function properly, they need to be able to contract and relax.
Pretty much like a heartbeat. Your heart is just a big ole muscle. It contracts and relaxes. Calcium is what makes it contract to pump blood through your body. That’s why deficiencies in calcium can cause heart and other muscular problems. They can’t contract without adequate calcium. Symptoms can include weakness, muscle cramps or spasms, PMS symptoms, tension etc.
3. To provide strength for your skeletal system. Most people know that calcium is necessary to build strong bones and teeth. However, your bones actually serve as a good vault, like in the bank where you keep your reserves – a storage depot. When you have sufficient calcium, your body can draw on these reserves when needed. Any time your body needs calcium your parathyroid glands make a withdrawal to compensate for shortages or deposit excesses back into the vault. Pretty neat, huh?
It’s not only for the prevention of osteoporosis but is vital for life and the prevention of tension, anxiety or stress.
Calcium, the most abundant mineral in your body, is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout your nervous system. Your body – via the parathyroid glands – strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in the blood, muscle, and intracellular fluids.
Powerful Painkiller
Calcium gluconate also happens to be the most powerful painkiller there is – far superior to morphine! If you’re ultra-sensitive to pain, you could be calcium deficient.
Some Calcium Deficiency Symptoms
Symptoms of hypocalcemia (hypo=low + calcemia=calcium) include numbness and tingling in the fingers, depression, stress, insomnia, tension, hyperactivity, inability to “switch off”, muscle cramps, convulsions, lethargy, poor appetite, abnormal heart rhythms, etc, etc. And What Of Magnesium?
Whilst calcium contracts your muscles, magnesium relaxes them.
Take the heartbeat example above. The calcium contracts your heart and magnesium relaxes it. That’s how muscles work. If you’re deficient in calcium, your muscles can’t contract. If you’re deficient in magnesium, they can’t relax. Either way is not good.
Magnesium also helps regulate your blood sugar levels – making it vital for diabetics and hypoglycemic people, promotes normal blood pressure, and is involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Magnesium also plays a role in preventing and managing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Magnesium is absorbed in your small intestines and excreted through your kidneys.
Some Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms
Early signs of magnesium deficiency include: weakness, muscle spasms, anxiety, fatigue, difficulty swallowing, confusion, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, etc. As it worsens, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures (sudden changes in behaviors caused by excessive electrical activity in the brain), personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms can occur.
A severe magnesium deficiency can result in low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia) as well as low levels of potassium (hypokalemia). Calcium and Magnesium Ratios
Calcium and magnesium work together. Calcium cannot be utilized without its balancing partner, magnesium. They work in tandem. In order for your body to be able to utilize calcium, it needs to be in a 2:1 ratio with magnesium with the correct pH so that they can be absorbed.
Calcium and magnesium are both alkaline and need some kind of acid to be absorbed. Vitamin C or apple cider vinegar do a pretty good job creating an optimum pH. RELAX MUSCLES: “I get very tense muscles and headaches and now instead of taking Advil I make a Sleepy Time with Valerian Root tea with CalMag-C in it and the combination is actually really helping relax my muscles and get rid of minor headaches. The taste is great too. I like it a lot better than the other brand I was using. I actually drink it a lot! I’ll definitely be buying a lot more. :-)”
Marci M, Oregon
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© 2013 Desiree Lotz or Helping Hands Life Improvement Center USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.