This info is from “Healing With Whole Foods” by Paul Pitchford

I highly recommend this book!! This book opened my eyes about the healing properties of whole foods . . . it gave me a lot of inexpensive powerful tools to add to my Balancing Menu.

Calcium

1) Recommendations for Increasing Calcium Absorption. Get sufficient vitamin D from sunshine. 20% of skin exposed for 30 mins at sea level. Face and hands are about 5% of the skin.

2) Eat calcium-, magnesium-, chlorophyll-, and mineral-rich foods, especially grains, legumes, leafy greens (including cereal grasses and/or micro-algae), and seaweeds. Avoid the calcium inhibitors.

3) Exercise regularly and moderately.

4) Calcium supplements can be helpful, especially if the basic diet is poor. Include lots of green vegetables in the diet when taking calcium supplements to maximize assimilation and minimize the danger of calcium accumulation in tissues. In addition, these supplements are best taken with either a very high-mineral food such as alfalfa or kelp tablets, or in conjunction with a mineral supplement.

5) Presoak grains and legumes before cooking to neutralize their phytic acid content, which otherwise binds the zinc, magnesium, calcium and other minerals in these foods.

6) Use oxalic acid foods sparingly – rhubarb, cranberries, plums, spinach, chard, and beet greens – as they also bind calcium.

7) If dairy is used, the fermented kinds digest most easily. Goat’s milk products are preferable. Avoid skim milk- it is devoid of fat and enzymes necessary for proper calcium absorption.

8) If there are signs of kidney-adrenal weakness such as weak legs and knees, low backache, loose teeth, ringing in the ears, and unusual head-hair loss, specific kidney tonics may be indicated. (Pitchford p.184-5)

Healthy Kidneys

A person with healthy, vital kidney is ACTIVE YET CALM, COURAGEOUS BUT GENTLE, ACCOMPLISHES A GREAT DEAL WITHOUT STRESS, AND BALANCES ASSERTIVE ACTION WITH NURTURE. (Pitchford p.316)

Calcium Sources, Inhibitors, and Requirements

100mg (31/2 ounce) edible portions

Food Calcium in Milligrams

Hijiki 1400

Wakame 1300

Kelp 1099

Kombu 800

Brick cheese 682

Wheat/Barley Grass 514

Sardines 443

Agar-Agar 400

Nori 260

Almonds 233

Amaranth grain 222

Hazelnuts 209

Parsley 203

Turnip Greens 191

Brazil nuts 186

Sunflower seeds 174

Watercress 151

Garbanzo beans 150

Quinoa 141

Black beans 135

Pistachios 135

Pinto beans 135

Kale 134

Spirulina 131

Yogurt 121

Milk 119

Collard greens 117

Sesame seeds 110

Chinese cabbage 106

Tofu 100

Walnuts 99

Okra 82

Salmon 79

Cottage cheese 60

Eggs 56

Brown Rice 33

Bluefish 23

Halibut 13

Chicken 11

Ground beef 10

Mackerel 5

Accelerated Calcium Absorption Through Silicon

Silicon, found in all plant fiber as silica (SiO2), is essential for efficient calcium utilization and for increasing bone strength. It is an integral part of all connective tissues of the body, including the blood vessels, tendons, and cartilage, and necessary for their health and renewal.

French chemist Louis Kervran believes that silicon is transmuted into calcium and manganese is transmuted into iron and by eating a diet high in manganese and silicon, a person consumes more potential iron and calcium than by actually taking iron and calcium supplements. In one case, a woman in her seventies took the silicon-rich herb horsetail in a tea for several months. When she went to her dentist he was amazed to find that a number of small cavities had filled in. Horsetail actually has the “signature” of looking like jointed bones. It is one of the most primitive plants; it is near the border between the plant and mineral kingdoms, and it readily offers its store of minerals if decocted in a tea. (It contains a poisonous enzyme which is easily neutralized by simmering in water for ten minutes). When using horsetail products in capsules, purchase only those that are specially processed to be non-toxic. It is also a diuretic and astringent herb and should be ingested in small quantities (see formula below).

Mineral-Rich Formula (Tooth Tea)

An herbal formula for improving teeth, bones, arteries, and all connective tissue, and for strengthening calcium metabolism in the body:

1 part Horsetail

1 part Oat straw

1 part Kombu or Kelp

1/3 part Lobelia

Simmer each 1 ounce of formula in 1 pint water for 25 mins and drink ½ cup two or three times a day. At the end of every three weeks, stop using the formula for one week. Those with bone and connective-tissue weaknesses can expect noticeable renewal from taking this formula during one entire season of the year, ideally in winter.

Silicon rich foods: all lettuce, especially the Boston and bib varieties, parsnips, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, dandelion greens, strawberries, celery, cucumber (silicon is riches in the peel), apricots, and carrots. When these foods are included in the diet, the above formula becomes even more effective.

Chlorophyll/silicon plants can help balance the consumption of very sweet food: chlorophyll slows the spread of unhealthy microorganisms while silicon encourages calcium absorption. Two common green vegetable with ample silicon are celery and lettuce; these also combine well with fruit according to food-combining principles. An important property of celery and lettuce is a mildly bitter flavor, which enables them to dry damp conditions such as mucus or east in the body. Both vegetables are especially beneficial if eaten before and/or after the consumption of any very sweet food. Try chewing sticks of celery after a dessert. Most people experience a far milder reaction to the sweets. (Pitchford p.184-187)

GREEN

In color therapy green is sometimes referred to as the “master color,” which benefits all conditions. One always has the option of choosing green when uncertain about the best color for correcting an imbalance: green can be used both for reduction and sedating excesses and for strengthening weaknesses. Green, the color associated with spring, is primarily characterized by the power of renewal.

When used in a meal, green plants provide a refreshing, vital, and relaxing presence. This visual intuition is accurate, since the green hue corresponds to the fundamental properties of chlorophyll. These include the ability to purify, quell inflammations and rejuvenate, as indicated below. (Pitchford p.188)

Chlorophyll is the regulator of Calcium.

Those who consume dairy in quantity and are also truly healthy nearly always eat plenty of green vegetables. The plants riches in chlorophyll – the micro-algae and cereal grasses are good sources of magnesium. Green plants also have the greatest concentration of calcium of any food; because of their magnesium, chlorophyll, and other calcium cofactors, increasing the consumption of green plants often in a simple solution to calcium problems.

CALCIUM SOUPS

#1 Bone soups/ stocks

#2 Bean soup with seaweed

#3 Sprouted Whole Barley/ Kale Soup

(Pitchford, p.180)

Fluoride

Originally, decay-prevention tests with fluoride were carried out with calcium fluoride, yet sodium fluoride is the chemical added to city water supplies. Sodium fluoride is an extremely toxic by-product of the aluminum industry and was expensive to dispose of until cities were persuaded to put it in the public water for tooth decay prevention. Up until this time, its primary use was as rat poison. After it was approved for use in city water supplies, the price of sodium fluoride went up 1,000% almost overnight. Many tests have been performed with sodium fluoride; some indicate improved teeth while others show a worsening effect. In truth, most tests are difficult to interpret since the mineral content of the water itself is one of the deciding factors. If there is adequate calcium in water, fluoride will form calcium fluoride, which may be of some benefit. (Pitchford p.84)

Fluorine in Food

Fluorine and its compounds in food are entirely different from chemically produced sodium fluoride. Once an element is extracted from the soil and incorporated into plant life, its properties change greatly. Fluorine compounds in food, for instance, have important nutritional functions. The combination of organic calcium and fluorine creates a very hard surface on teeth and also in the bones. That is why, when there is tooth decay, we assume a fluorine shortage. Also, fluorine helps protect the entire body for the invasion and proliferation of germs and viruses.

Fluorine in food is volatile and evaporates with cooking. (Sodium fluoridated water, in contrast, loses no fluoride with heat.) One of the most concentrated sources of fluorine is goat’s milk. Other sources are seaweed, rice, rye, parsley, avocados, cabbage, and black-eyed peas; herbs high in fluorine include juniper berries, licorice, lemon grass, bancha tea twigs, and other tea plants. (Pitchford p.85)

BAKING SODA

Baking powder and baking soda are both chemicals which deplete baked goods of the B vitamins thiamine and folic acid. These compounds also create a type of alkalinity in the body that eradicates vitamin C.

An excellent use of baking soda is as a dentifrice. Its highly alkaline properties neutralize plaque acids and eliminate the bacteria that cause tooth loss – gum infection and inflammation such as gingivitis and pyorrhea – better than most commercial toothpastes. (Pitchford p. 166)

Overuse of baking soda to brush teeth may result in receding gums. (Dave Card)

Salty flavor

The salty flavor may be increased in the diet to soften lumps, for example, hardened lymph nodes, cataracts, and other knotting of the muscles and glands. Those with pyorrhea can brush teeth with fine salt. Salt counteracts toxins in the body, and increases appetite. Best to use in fall and winter. Examples: Salt, seaweed, barley and millet have some salty qualities, soy sauce, miss, pickles, umeboshi and gomasio. (Pitchford p.272)

Bleeding, inflamed gums- brush teeth and gums with fine sea salt twice daily. Also helpful for purulent (pus-containing) gums. However, salt is not for regular use as a dentifrice. It is too abrasive and extended use may cause erosive lesions of the gums. Better dentifrices, recommended in this text are hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. (Pitchford p.165)

Other recommended foods for healthy teeth

Corn promotes healthy teeth and gums. Drink tea made from whole dried kernels for kidney disease

Sprouted Rye – the fluorine benefits tooth enamel strength.

Celery

Carrots

Grapefruit – the bioflavonoid activity of the peel in conjunction with its vitamin c is useful for strengthening the gums, arteries and circulation in general

Greens

Oranges for weak gums and teeth

Pomegranates strengthen gums

Strawberries – rub on teeth to strengthen teeth and remove tartar, leave on 45 mins, rinse.

Stevia

Twig Tea

Figs- for toothache rub fresh fig into the gums

Hijiki builds bones and teeth

Arame-used for feminine disorders and mouth problems