Calcium is one of the most important minerals in our diet. From the time we develop in the womb to breast feeding and far into adulthood the availability of calcium is the determinant factor for a wide variety of physiological characteristics. Obviously, calcium grows bones, but it also does far more than that. Calcium allows cells to run hot, pairing with phosphorus after the use of energy to prevent cellular damage. Our saliva also includes calcium which facilitates tooth repair, and calcium also helps run the reproductive system. For instance, without calcium the testes cannot produce testosterone.

But calcium deficiency is never diagnosed in a doctor’s office because when the diet is low in calcium hormones are released which liberate calcium from storage in bone, thus keeping blood calcium levels adequate even during severe calcium deficiency. Calcium deficiency is one of those things which is manifest by symptoms rather than labs and numbers and since doctors now only care about test results they are ignorant to the symptoms and dangers of calcium deficiency.

This deficiency is a serious problem because we have a finite amount of available calcium in bone before serious consequences begin to occur such as insomnia, weight gain, and even more advanced diseases like osteoporosis and even cancer. Those who suffer insomnia have a calcium deficiency even if they have adequate dietary calcium because calcium is the crucial factor in restful sleep, and when the body is not able to absorb sufficient calcium the body tries to induce sleep by leaching the calcium from storage but at a certain point the readily available calcium has already been leached which in turn causes the body to increase calcium-leaching hormones to such a degree that it causes severe disturbances to the nervous and endocrine system which in turn cause insomnia (among other reasons, which are also discussed in my book in the chapter on insomnia) and which eventually results in deterioration of bone and worsening of the metabolic state. For a long time I assumed that just because I was eating calcium I was getting plenty, but I have recently come to understand that this is not the case at all. As I discuss in my book, Fuck Portion Control there are certain gut environments which promote health, youthfulness, and energy, and states which do not. Candida yeast, for instance, actually uses calcium to buffer itself against anti-fungal agents and the harsh pH of the stomach in order to alter our metabolic state so it can feed on our blood sugar and proteins. The altered state of the gut is more harmful in other ways, though, in that it suppresses the activity of bacteria which produce the short chain fatty acids such as butyric acid and acetic acid. These short chain fatty acids serve so many purposes that they are not all known to science and medicine. One that I have become aware of is how these acids react with minerals in our diet and affect our physiology differently than when they are absent.

When dietary calcium enters the digestive tract there are many factors which can promote or inhibit its absorption. Dietarily, the greatest inhibitor of calcium are things like phytate or oxalic acid such as occurs in spinach. Even though there is quite a lot of calcium in spinach only about 5% of it is absorbed due to phytate and oxalic acid. Phytic acid in whole grain products similarly inhibit calcium absorption, and the high phosphorus in sodas which have phosphoric acid combined with a low calcium diet is what actually accounts for a great deal of tooth decay, not the sugar which is so commonly blamed, because a severe calcium deficiency interrupts tooth regeneration and thus allows bacterial ingress, but also because saliva is quite alkaline, in part for the presence of calcium, and an alkaline environment in the mouth is actually what naturally prevents bacterial growth.

Endogenously, vitamin D is the primary factor for promoting calcium absorption, which it does, but even taking supplemental vitamin D with adequate dietary calcium, while increasing calcium absorption, can still fail to improve problems like insomnia and weight gain, two processes highly influenced by calcium, because there are different forms of calcium which seem to have different effects on the metabolism. When the gut is healthy and in proper working fashion and there are sufficient amounts of the short chain fatty acids those acids also react to minerals in our diet such as calcium, producing different forms which have different effects on our physiology. I suspect this is related to how our body functions during the seasons or availability of various food sources, where the presence of such compounds which are normally created by things such as fruits and vegetables signals an availability of certain food sources to the body and thus allows more energy intensive metabolic processes. While developing the use of sodium acetate to help restore gut function and cure alcoholism I also experimented with calcium acetate, but it wasn’t until more recently that I recognized calcium acetate’s effects on my physiology as well, which includes more restful sleep and more consistently warm extremities. My GABA therapy discussed in my book which promotes healing of varicose veins, spider veins, skin scarring, and general regeneration of tissues is profoundly promoted by calcium acetate apart from other forms of calcium since I know that my dietary and body levels of calcium have otherwise been superb on account of my libido, mood, and energy. But on using calcium acetate my sleep became more restful (feeling very refreshed on waking) in addition to having more consistent temperatures in my extremities. In my chapter on GABA therapy I mention how the therapy is fickle and not always reproducible, and I now suspect that calcium acetate may be the factor which determines its reproducibility (if this turns out to be the case I will update the book to include it).

Calcium acetate is quite easy to make, but using calcium, even more than other supplements,  requires serious caution and patience. In those who are severely deficient the body will have very high calcium promoting factors like parathyroid hormone which makes the body intensely more sensitive to calcium intake, and sudden, large doses of calcium can cause nausea, vomiting, and even seizures. The recipe as shown below is safer for those who have not had much calcium intake and once you have used it for a time you can increase the dosage a little, but I would never exceed more than 1200 mg of calcium a day from this supplement, especially if you’re also getting calcium from other sources, and certainly do not do that regularly because once you are using the supplement you also don’t need more because calcium is finally being efficiently supplied, so the smaller doses are better anyway, and calcium in excess can be as much of a problem as calcium deficiency, so please don’t think you will benefit from overdoing it, which you certainly will not. While this is effective in raising calcium, I personally dislike the taste and prefer using calcium sulfate (available for purchase as food-grade calcium sulfate or food-grade gypsum powder) and vitamin D. You can read more on GABA therapy to regenerate tissues, cure insomnia, how to restore the gut environment to promote the natural synthesis of the short chain fatty acids, and destroy things like Candida in my book, Fuck Portion Control.

CALCIUM ACETATE
*never mix in a sealed container, reaction is
volatile and will burst container.
1/4 tsp calcium carbonate
1 tablespoon vinegar
Place calcium carbonate in an open cup or bowl, add vinegar. This reaction takes much more time than making sodium acetate and requires frequent and constant agitation in order to react all calcium. Once the reaction has finished, dilute this remaining solution with water, orange juice, or milk, and divide into two doses separated by at least an hour when starting calcium acetate.