Arthritis and the Removal of Calcium from Bones
The removal of calcium from bones under stress is clearly one feature of the arthritic process.
Normally calcium moves continuously between blood and bone to maintain balance. A hormone from the parathyroid glands in the neck takes calcium from the bones when the blood level drops. Calcitonin, a hormone from the thyroid gland, encourages calcium back to the bone.
Vitamins are needed for us to absorb calcium from our food and also to help the bone to mineralise.
The balance of calcium is very delicate. If the blood levels drop, our muscles may go into spasms and convulsions. If our bones are continuously leached, they may bend or break. If blood calcium stays high, as in stress, then calcium may be deposited in arteries, tissues, muscles and joints.
This depositing tendency appears to be an error resulting from prolonged stress without adequate nutrition, a parathyroid imbalance or vitamin deficiency.
The adrenals produce cortisol from the hormone deoxycortisol (DOC for short). DOC itself has a remarkable action. It helps the body fight infection and damage by setting up inflammation around bacteria or toxins and walling them off, as in boils for example. Swelling, pain and fever may result but the body has been protected. Normally sufficient DOC will be converted to cortisol to remove the pain and swelling, once the intruder has been dealt with.
When a good diet does not supply the vitamins needed by the enzymes that make and balance these hormones, the DOC may fail to be converted and the areas of pain and swelling may become permanent and collect calcium. Cortisone treatment is not the easy solution. This is because our own DOC production is inhibiting lower resistance, bones are further demineralised, other mineral reactions cause water retention (moon face); the constant robbing of proteins may eat away our stomach cells and give us ulcers.
08.01.2007. 19:52
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