BTW, here is an excellent article on coral calcium recently published in the Montreal Gazette, by Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director, McGill University Office for Chemistry and Society.
"Wouldn't it be great to get rid of this scam through legal channels?" (ie. RAM regulations ) asks Dr. Joe Schwarcz.
Jaro
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By Dr. Joe Schwarcz:
How would you like to get a brand new brain? According to "Dr." Robert Barefoot, it isn't that hard. All you have to do is bathe your old brain in calcium. Not any calcium, mind you, "coral calcium." And not any old coral calcium either. There are hucksters out there trying to cash in on this miracle by scamming the public with poor quality coral. But not our pal Barefoot. This champion of the people knows the source of supplements that have the "perfect balance" of calcium, magnesium and trace minerals. Only coral gathered from the ocean around the Japanese Island of Okinawa has the right stuff for brain regeneration! And don't worry, you don't actually have to remove the organ from your skull to rejuvenate it; you can bathe it "in situ" by taking coral calcium supplements orally. But a new brain is only part of the coral calcium sensation. This wondrous product also offers protection against over two hundred diseases, including cancer, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Needless to say, it is also ideal for weight loss and of course will turn gray hair back to its original color.
None of this is news to TV viewers who have seen Barefoot crop up on "infomercials" with annoying frequency. These programs are designed to look like documentaries and usually feature a "skeptical" interviewer who tries, unsuccessfully, to poke holes in the unconventional theories of an "expert" guest. In the case of "coral calcium," the interviewer is a performer with a rather blotchy personal history that includes spending time in jail for check fraud. He has also had numerous legal encounters with the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. for promoting a variety of nonsensical products on the air. Once he even posed as a doctor to improve his image with bank officials. The coral calcium "expert" is of course our friend Robert Barefoot.
First things first. Barefoot is not any kind of a "Dr." Not an MD, not a Ph.D. His educational background consists of a degree in chemistry from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, a degree that should be revoked in light of the chemical arguments he makes on behalf of coral calcium. Such as his claim that our body's DNA is virtually dormant if it is not "smothered in calcium," and that if you are calcium deficient "you grow old twice as fast and your body can't repair itself." As is the case for most clever knaves involved in marketing schemes, Barefoot takes a thread of scientific truth and twists it out of proportion.
Yes, DNA replication does require calcium. And potassium. And iron. And magnesium. And a host of enzymes. And dozens of other biochemicals. It only happens properly in healthy cells and cellular health requires the proper balance of all of these substances. To suggest that calcium supplements alone cause DNA to replicate properly and regenerate brains or other tissues is absurd. Our body has a vast storage depot for calcium that can be tapped if needed. It's called the skeleton. Calcium deficiency can of course lead to osteoporosis, but it will not wither your brain. Barefoot also sheds light on Parkinson's disease, which he says is caused by the accumulation of electron deficient free radicals. These are "starved" for electrons, which can be provided by calcium. A truly bizarre notion, given that calcium in the body exists in the form of positive calcium ions, which most assuredly cannot give up any more electrons.
There's more. "Ninety five percent of all disease can be cured in America in two years with coral calcium." Doctors of course don't know this because all their knowledge comes from the pharmaceutical industry, which has no interest in promoting "safe and natural" cures. That's why they haven't learned that heart disease is actually quite easy to treat. It is caused by "acidosis," not cholesterol! Cholesterol is actually a lifesaver! It seals cracks in arteries caused by acidosis. Yes, Barefoot admits, it is found at the scene of the crime. But he asks rhetorically, "are you concerned if firemen show up at a fire?" "God gave us cholesterol to seal cracks in our arteries and without it we would be dead." Gee, we should be guzzling cholesterol because as Barefoot tells us, if someone over seventy doubles their cholesterol, they will live longer.
The self-proclaimed "renowned chemist" attempts to buttress his argument by quoting Dr. Kilmer McCully, a noted researcher, that "acid eating a hole in the wall of an artery and not cholesterol is the cause of heart disease." McCully did propose a theory that an amino acid, homocysteine, was a risk factor for heart disease, but certainly not by eating through an artery. In any case, to reduce homocysteine, one needs to ingest B vitamins, not calcium.
Acidosis apparently is also the cause of cancer. According to Barefoot, the acidity of saliva is a reflection of the acidity of the blood, and cancer patients have a salivary pH of 4.5, which is very acidic. It is also very incorrect. No studies have shown a relationship between the pH of saliva and cancer. But more importantly, the acid-base balance of the blood is not altered by diet. The blood is a buffer system which the body maintains in a very narrow pH range around 7.4. The suggestion that this can be altered by taking coral calcium is ridiculous. If cancer were a question of adjusting body pH by diet, a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide, as found in Drano or oven cleaner should also get the job done.
Barefoot totally misquotes a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and claims it shows that calcium cures cancer. It shows no such thing. The study found that people who were at risk for colon cancer, and who increased their dietary intake of calcium from dairy products, not supplements, reduced the risk. It is true that many North Americans do not get enough calcium and should consider supplements for various reasons. Calcium carbonate is a good supplement, but it doesn't matter if it comes from the exorbitantly expensive coral calcium products or from cheap house brands, or for that matter, blackboard chalk. Want to hear more? Barefoot says he's seen multiple sclerosis patients leave their wheelchairs behind and thousands of patients cure themselves of cancer with coral calcium. He says people come to him dying and don't die. I say the man needs a new brain. But he'll have to try something other than coral calcium to get one. Judging by all the foolishness he spouts, those pills are not getting the job done.