How do food sensitivities affect a person’s calcium absorption rate? Today, guest expert Kim Millman shares a Calcium CheckUp tool that can help with your diet, meeting your calcium needs, and feeling and looking your very best.

I didn’t think that happened until I got old! my patient said with a concerned look.  I didn’t like delivering the news any more than I liked the new trend I was seeing among younger men and women. You see, my patient was the fifth 20-something patient I diagnosed with osteoporosis this year.

As I drove home that evening, I pondered why Osteoporosis – a disease once reserved for older folks where your bones lose density and become more fragile – might be increasing, especially among younger people.

I began connecting the dots. One apparent culprit was food sensitivities, which create mineral mal-absorption and inflammation.  Other signs were there too.  My younger patients had muscle cramps, anxiety, and weak immune systems, much like my older patients with mineral deficiencies and bone disease.

There’s no doubt, growing older puts you at increased risk for osteoporosis.  The surprising thing is that avoiding dairy and mal-absorption can cause calcium deficiencies and Osteoporotic bone breakdown 30 to 40 years earlier than you would expect.

I’m not just talking about bone cells being starved for calcium. Muscle cells, brain cells, immune cells… Every cell takes a serious hit when you don’t have enough calcium.

Are You Starved for Calcium?

Could you be calcium deficient and depriving your bones (as well as other cells) of this crucial mineral?

Take this short quiz to find out:

• Do you get anxious, nervous or feel hyper?
• Do you get panic attacks or have performance anxiety?
• Do you have bad uterine cramps during your period?
• Do you get muscle spasms or Charlie horses?
• Do you have chest pain or heaviness in your chest?
• Does your face or eye twitch?
• Do you get every cold and flu that comes around?
• Does it take you a long time to recover from illness?
• Do you feel like you are never well?
• Do you have Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, or a history of fractures?

If you answered “yes” to three or more questions, you could be calcium deficient.

How Did This Happen?

The bottom line is that if your tissues are starved for calcium, you are not getting enough calcium to cover your body’s needs.  Unfortunately, this scenario is far more common than you might think – especially if you don’t eat dairy.

I’ll show you how this happens…

If you don’t eat dairy, you’re only getting 125-175 mg of calcium per day, even if you eat plenty of veggies, protein, nuts, and seeds.

That might sound like a lot, but you need far more: Just to cover what your body uses each day, you require at least 800 mg of calcium.

Let’s say you get 150 mg from food. That means you need to supplement with 650 mg.  A typical daily nutrient packet contains about 300 mg of calcium, so you’re creating a 350-mg daily deficit.

Are you beginning to see the problem?

These losses add up: this deficit can create an approximate 3% skeletal calcium loss over a year; three times higher than that of a post-menopausal woman.

If you don’t supplement at all, your predicted bone loss can become twice as high. Since a 5% bone loss can trigger a whopping 40% increase in fracture risk, this yearly loss could be serious, and can happen regardless of your age.

Remember, it isn’t just your bones that are in danger. Every tissue in your body becomes affected by calcium loss.

So What Do I Do?

Understandably, my patients want to take control now to repair damage and maintain supple, strong bones as they age. Stocking up on low-fat yogurt, skim milk, and other dairy isn’t the answer, especially if you’re dairy sensitive. (Most of us are to some degree.)

Instead, you’ll want to supplement your mineral stores and revitalize your cells.

But in fact, therein lies the rub.

How much do YOU need? 

Experts across the globe disagree on how much calcium you need each day just to maintain your bone density.   And that’s for some average person eating an average diet in an average population.  Let alone a person who needs to rebuild deficient calcium stores.

But you aren’t average, are you?

You need to know what YOU need, not what the general population needs.  First things first, you need to calculate your calcium bank account.

Think of calcium stores just like you would your bank account: You make deposits and withdrawals. To steady the balance, your deposits must be equal to or greater than your withdrawals. To increase your balance, you need to deposit more than you withdraw.

Let’s say you take a weekend trip to Vegas and gamble several hundred dollars. You enjoy lavish dinners and premium cocktails. Your bank balance the following Monday will be less – probably far less – than when you checked Friday, right?

Likewise, every day you don’t deposit calcium, your withdrawal increases and you risk calcium deficiency symptoms. Imagine if you took a yearlong vacation and never make any bank deposits. You’re not going to be happy when you check your account, right? That’s what happens when you suffer calcium deficiencies for years.  I don’t want this to happen to you.

What You Need Is A Calcium CheckUp!

Getting a Calcium CheckUp is as easy as learning your ABCD’s.

1. A is for Tissue Adequacy

The first step is to identify if your tissues are already starved for calcium.

2. B is for Calcium Bookkeeping 

Next is to calculate your daily calcium deposits and withdrawals.

3. C is for Customized Goal 

YOUR calcium balance goal depends on how charged or depleted your tissues are now.

4. D is for Danger Assessment 

If your book keeping shows your deposits are not enough to meet your goal, your tissues will be in danger of depletion or starvation.  You need to know this so you can do something about it.

I’ve created a new tool called the Calcium CheckUp that will walk you through the ABCDs so you know whether your current diet and supplementation put your calcium bank account in the safe or danger zone.

My Calcium CheckUp can predict how your calcium bank account affects your bone mineral density. You’ll also learn how your muscles, mood, immunity, and energy could be affected as well.

If you struggle with fatigue, low libido, weight loss resistance, erratic moods, and other problems that leave you running on empty, imagine if something as simple as replenishing calcium levels could help you feeling and looking your very best.

Don’t suffer another day with bone loss and calcium depletion. In less than five minutes, my Calcium CheckUp can help you identify whether you’re meeting your calcium needs or if you’re paving the path for osteoporosis and other problems. 

To take my quiz, click here.


Kim Millman, MD, PhD
Dr. Kim Millman is a Stanford-trained MD, board certified in internal medicine, with a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology.  She is internationally acclaimed for her medical research in the fields of population genetics and infectious disease.  She has over 20 years of functional medicine training and has a thriving holistic medical practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She believes in using whole foods and lifestyle changes to reverse chronic conditions and she is an expert in Natural Medicine, Mineral Metabolism, and Osteoporosis.