The following is a guest post about why you may actually be doing more damage than good with those calcium supplements you are taking – this post comes straight from the desk of Dr. Carolyn Dean (visit her fantastic website by clicking here). Leave your comments and questions below!

Calcium is prominent in the news these days. A July 29, 2010 British Medical Journal meta-analysis says that “Risks outweigh benefits for calcium supplements.” This study indicates that calcium supplements cause more cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and stroke) than the number of fractures they prevent.

The study analyzed data on 12,000 people involved in the 15 trials. The increased risk was about 30 percent. The seven authors of the study say the risk is modest but they are concerned that with so many people taking calcium supplements “even a small increase in incidence of cardiovascular disease could translate into a large burden of disease in the population.” They even go so far as to “suggest that a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis is warranted.”

That’s a huge admission of failure of the main treatment for osteoporosis—high dose calcium supplementation.

Now, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you’ve heard me say all this before. Most calcium supplements are only absorbed 4%-15% and the other 85%-96% deposits in various body parts. These deposits create gall stones, kidney stones, heel spurs, atherosclerotic calcium plaques and breast calcifications. It’s the calcium deposits that are the problem. If these supplements were 100% absorbed we wouldn’t need so much and there would be nothing left over to cause problems.

What will you do for your bones instead of taking calcium supplements? Here’s what I suggest:

1.) Eat calcium rich foods. If you go to whfoods.com you could research calcium-rich foods. Add up the amount you get in your diet.2.) Eat magnesium-rich foods and add up the amount you are eating on a daily basis. 

3.) Take twice as much magnesium as you do calcium.

4.) If you aren’t getting enough magnesium, take supplements. Magnesium differs from calcium because if it’s not absorbed the excess is eliminated through the bowels as a laxative effect.

5.) If you feel you need more calcium than you get in your diet, take an angstrom form of calcium to avoid the non-absorbed forms. Angstrom minerals are a bit smaller than a picometer…and that’s very small. You only have to take a small amount because these minerals are 100% absorbed.

6.) Check your vitamin D levels. Have your doctor use the 25(OH) D test. If your levels are not in the high normal range, get out in the sun for 20-30 minutes a day without sunscreen and take a few thousand IU’s of Vitamin D3 per day.

Hummus is a dip/spread that is made from chickpeas. In fact, hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea. You may notice that many hummus recipes call for garbanzo beans, not chickpeas. Don’t worry, garbanzo is the Spanish translation of chickpea. They are called cece beans in Italy and pois chiche in France.

Hummus is one of the oldest foods dating back to ancient Egypt. We know that chickpeas were used quite frequently over 7,000 years ago.

Hummus Recipes

If you frequent Middle Eastern restaurants and eat the hummus, you know that hummus tastes different everywhere. Some types of hummus have a strong lemon flavor, some have an overwhelming garlic flavor, and some hummus has a spicy tone.

When making your own hummus, you have to keep your own tastebuds in mind. If a recipe calls for a lot of tahini( see below) and you don’t like tahini, scale down the amount or simply omit it. The fun about Middle Eastern cooking is that the ingredient amounts aren’t set in stone. Add a little of this and take away that and you still have a culinary masterpiece!

These days hummus is made a million different ways, flavor included. Here are some excellent hummus recipes that have a variety of ingredients making hummus more exciting

Ingredients: TAHINI

• 5 cups sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil

Preparation:

Ingredients: ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS

• 1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (15 oz)
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup -3/4 cup roasted red peppers (depending on taste)

Preparation: Is the same for all recipes

Ingredients: SUN DRIED TOMATO HUMMUS

• 1 can garbano beans/chickpeas (15 oz.), drained
• 3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes in oil
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Ingredients: ROASTED EGGPLANT HUMMUS

• 2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or soaked if using dried
• 1 small eggplant
• 3 tablespoons of tahini
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sprig of parsley, finely chopped

Preparation: