SportDr

First the Lengthy Definition from Wikipedia: :smoke:

Calcium is essential in muscle contraction, oocyte activation, bones and tooth structure, blood clotting, nerve impulse transmission, regulating heartbeat, and fluid balance within cells. In the U.S., between about 50% and 75% of adults do not get sufficient calcium in their diet.^[1] Adults need between 1,000 and 1,300 mg of calcium in their daily diet.^[1]

Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet. A deficit can affect bone and tooth formation, while overretention can cause kidney stones. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium. Dairy products, such as milk and cheese, are a well-known source of calcium, seaweeds such as kelp, wakame and hijiki; nuts and seeds (like almonds and sesame); blackstrap molasses; beans; oranges; amaranth; collard greens; okra; rutabaga; broccoli; dandelion leaves; kale; and fortified products such as orange juice and soy milk are good sources too.

Calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of bones and teeth, and calcium requirements must be met throughout life. Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures. Calcium has also been found to assist in the production of lymphatic fluids.
Recommended Adequate Intake by the IOM for Calcium:^[1]

Age	Calcium (mg/day)
0 to 6 months	210
7 - 12 months	270
1 to 3 years	500
4 to 8 years	800
9 to 18 years	1300
19 to 50 years	1000
51+ years	1200

Now for the dilemma:

The above statement has identified the need for Calcium, we all know that Calcium is required for teeth and bones, yadda yadda but the other important function of Calcium is in the nervous system. 1% of your total Calcium is contained in your blood, nerves and muscles (calcium is utilised in EVERY muscle contraction). It also aids in clotting and maintaining an a healthy PH balance, (calcium is Alkaline), pretty important to a bodybuilder then right?

Trouble is that most people only just consume enough Calcium for their requirements see this thread. This deficiency is made worse by the chemical and hormonal actions upon the body that leach Calcium and here-in is the dilemma.

Think how many of these statements apply to you:

Bodybuilders Using AAS can suffer from long term hormonal imbalances.
Prolonged high levels of Eostrogen/Progesterone imbalance are known to prevent the the efficient osteoblastic/clastic activity (think osteoporosis, this is part of the reason why). However there are cultures acroos the world that have very little incidence of osteoporosis in menapausal women, why? The answer has been linked to the fact that western diets are high in protein, see below.

Bodybuilders commonly consume up to 2g per lb of bodyweight in protein.
High Protein diets cause a loss of Calcium from the body, meat is acid forming in the stomach as acid is secreted to digest it, unlike carbs which are digested in the intestine in a slighlty more alkaline environment. The body has to sacrifice Calcium stores to address the PH imbalance.

Bodybuilders commonly obtain there protein from a varitey of sources including lots of lean meat.
Diets containing a lot of meat, especially red meat, are high in Phosphorous. Excess Phosphorous inhibits Calcium absorption. Rheo H Blair (thanks to OSC for the PDF) recommended to his clients that they had a 2:1 ratio of dietary Calcium to Phosphorus. His rationale was that this was the natural balance which the body strived for and that an excess of Phosphorous was responsible for 'jitters' and 'insomnia'. These are in fact symtoms of Calcium deficiency, hardly suprising as Calcium is an essential part of the nervous system. Patrick Holford in his book Optimum Nutrition Bible recommends a 1:1-2:1 balance of Calcium to Phosphorous and states that a 1:2 ratio would be undesirable.

Bodybuilders use Caffiene in an ECA stack to help burn off fat
Caffiene leaches Calcium form the body too I am afraid.

So bodybuilders should have a good Calcium intake, with sufficient Calcium in the bones and nervous system to enable bone repair and muscle function, yet some if not most bodybuilders are doing most of the things which will most likely cause a deficiency as well as not taking in enough Calcium in the first place!

So whats the answer? Well thats easy Doc, I will just cram down some Calcium tabs from H&B job done!

Unfortunately its not gonna be that easy. A study in the American Journal of Nutrition observed two groups of subjects. One was fed a high protein diet (80g per day!!) and the oter was fed a very high protein diet (240g per day) they were also given 1400mg of Calcium per day. The results were that the high protein dieters lost 37mg of calcium per day, and the v high protein dieters lost 137mg of Calcium per day!!! (which category do you fit in?). The author concluded that a high Calcium intake will not prevent Calcium loss induced by high protein diets. Another study followed a diet containing 95g of Protein per day, which resulted in an average loss of 58g of Calcium per day or if maintained 365 days per year would result in a total loss of 2% skeletal mass per year!!! :smoke:

So Calcium is leaking out of every pore, the eostrogen I can't get rid of because I didn't listen to Hackski and do a PCT makes me cry like a baby over my btich boobs and prevents my bones reparing/recalcifying, I am not taking enough in my diet AND what I do take either isn't absorbed or is used up as a buffer to all the acid I am producing in my stomach or is leached out by my ECA stack! aha! I get it, as taking a pill won't fix this, what the fcuk am I gonna do about it? :confused:

The answer my friend is going to be a little contraversial and will require lifestyle changes that may not be easy to make due to entrenched bodybuilding doctrine.

Essentially treat the cause or avoid it in the first place! :smoke:

1. ALWAYS always always do a PCT. Bloodwork will confirm whether it has worked or not, but do one and get advice if you don't know how.
2. Eat a good diet with a variety of foods from all the food groups. Diets that exclude carbs or fats are a road to ill health in the long term. I have posted mine here.
3. Supplement to your ODA NOT your RDA, and supplement intelligently and specifically for your needs, body mass, sports, lifestyle. See Vitamins thread. And try these
4. Adjust your Protein intake to what is realistic!! You are not Ronnie Coleman, you pobably do not inject 5g of test per week if at all, you probably do not weigh 300lbs. So you do not need a vast amount of protein. Protein metabolism in to muscle is less than 10g per day natural!! Work out your Calories required using this calculator. Then base a diet on ratios you think suit your needs/metabolic type/taste. Personally I aimed for 40/40/20 but get more like 30/50/20, Protein,Carbs,Fat. Divide the calories given for each macro by its calorie density per gram, protein/carbs 4cals per g, Fat 9cals per g. This will give you your maximum Protein requirements. 2g per lb or more is way ott, when scientific literature has it at about 15/65/20. If you already use these ratios then fine, but do improve your food selections.
5. Address your Calcium/Phosphorous ratio aggressively. Use Fitday to track these and other micro's/macro's. I checked mine for the past three months and my average Calcium was 1,031mg my Phophorous however was 2,180mg!! thats a ratio of 1:2 yike!! and I thought my diet was spot on. The thing is I eat much like many of you do, with very similar foods, in fact I eat more fruit and veg than meat, unlike many of the posted diets here. In short, if its happening to me, it is likely to be happening to you, even if you do not know it yet. This is what prompted me to write this post.To correct the imbalance I will have to follow Rheo H Blairs advice and begin to remove meat from my diet :shocked: whats more I believe many of you should too :shocked: :shocked: . I can hear the wtf? from here however stay with me.Blair recommended to his clients that they ate no more than 3-4 meals containing meat per week. The remaining meals, 5-6 per day consisted of his cream/protein powder mix, with 3-4 whole eggs per day. The reason for this was that milk produce and whole eggs have a favourable calcium to phosphorous ratio, that will not promote a negative imbalance.Personally I eat meat twice per day average, I intend from now on, to reduce that to once every other day, replacing the meat in my meals with free rang/organic eggs (with adequate 2g Omega 3 Fish oils per meal & 3000mg Vit C taken to lower LDL) or Tofu (only 12oz per day maximum to avoid excess Phyto-Eostrogen). My other meals 1,2,4 & 6 already consist of dairy and protein powder in some form or other see here
6. Remove caffiene altogether from your diet. I already do this fortunately, but I am aiming this statement specifically at people using/intending to use ECA stacks and fat burners (Thermogenics).
7. Incorporate compound weightlifts into your routine!! Compound exercises increase bone density as do body weight exercises such as walking (though not as much).

Basically I know the controversial factor here is reducing meat from a bodybuilders diet to a mximum of four meals per week. But with the detrimental affects listed here, plus the fact that meat is often injected with dextrose, sodium, polluted with hormones, steroids, growth factors, laden with parasites or BSC plus it may have been sourced from an unhealthy animal eating god knows what, I don't think I am gonna miss meat that much, plus the meat that I do eat, because it is so infrequently, I can finally afford to buy free range organic, both animal friendly and toxin free.

Hope that helps some of you guys out there, it was a real epiphany for me, I was shocked that I could be leading myself into Osteoporosis or even a heart attack, whilst eating what I considered to be a perfect diet filled with whole grains, seed, fruit and veg but lots of meat.
SD

P.S
Reading my article, It does raise a counter question, If this is all true then why does Ronnie Coleman not have the bones of a 90 year old??? I watched Ronnies DVD, and I remember him eating a lot of eggs (eggology), and no doubt he sinks shed loads of protein shakes. These Protein sources will be at the expense of meat although I think he was eating meat at Dinner, so perhaps once per day? Add to this the heavy compound exercises (lightweight baby!), and no doubt he has a Steroid coach and bloodwork done to ensure his PCT is effective, so perhaps this is why.

SD

References:

Optimum Nutritional Bible By Patrick Holford

Rheo H Blair and the secrets of Bodybuilding Nutrition Pdf by Russ Mcdermot.

Wikipedia.

Myself!!

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SportDr

I got neg repped again, for this thread! Funny how people can criticise those trying to help and they don't even have the balls to leave there name. Mayybe its because they don't have the intelligence to contibute anything worthwhile themselves? Loooosers! :jerk:

SD

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big

SportDr, I have taken a look at your rep and you haven't been neg repped at all. You have been positive repped a couple of times recently by people who don't have enough posts to give a green light.

There are three types of rep:
Positive rep from someone with a high post count (green)
Rep from someone with too few posts for their rep to count (blue)
Negative rep from someone with a high post count (red)

I can give you the list of people who have repped you if you PM me - it's all been positive mate.

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SportDr

Thanks Big, my bad, totally forgot there was three colours, cheers for that.

SD

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