ELANRA NATURAL HEALTH Calcium - How Much Is Necessary? |
This page was last updated on: April 2, 2004
You will know calcium is an integral part of all bone, muscle and structural tissue, so it builds good strong bone, teeth and nails. But it also enters into thousands of chemical reactions within the body, gives vitality, promotes healing of wounds, reduces acidity, prevents faulty food assimilation, and safeguards the health of the embryo. |
Calcium in the bones is not static, but is in a constant state of turnover with calcium in the blood. Hormones keep the correct calcium level in the blood so that the nerves and muscles have enough calcium for their needs. Blood levels are kept normal by withdrawing calcium from the bones, which are a great big reservoir of calcium, and can always make up for a temporary shortfall in the diet. It is just like a bank balance, or money set aside for a rainy day. If you keep taking more out of bones than you deposit (from the diet) you end up in the red. The bones become more and more porous as their calcium is constantly called on to make up for a lack of calcium in the diet. Eventually they break down. As a dog ages, his stomach acid production declines, causing feeble assimilation, which means his ability to absorb this vital mineral reduces, and he heads for such problems as arthritis and hardening of the arteries. Pregnant, and lactating bitches also have a greater need for calcium. Not for the puppies, but for herself. Although the developing embryo are going to be provided with enough calcium for their needs via the bitch's bloodstream, she needs extra calcium at this time so her calcium level in the bones is not depleted to the stage where they and, consequently, her teeth suffer. Cortisone, aspirin, and thyroid medication also increase the need for calcium. Calcium is a soft, silvery metal which burns, reacts violently with acids and dissolves slowly in hot water releasing an explosive gas. To be of any value to the body, the calcium your dog eats must be in a form which can be absorbed, and consequently used, by the various life processes. Within the body, metabolism of calcium is very dependent upon phosphorous, magnesium, a myriad of other trace elements including sodium, potassium, manganese, silica and zinc, plus vitamins, hormones and enzymes. It is vital to remember that the balance of minerals in the diet is just as important as the range and absolute quantity. For example, the correct ratio of calcium to phosphorous must be maintained during the rapid growth months for bone formation. These two elements are closely linked both nutritionally and metabolically, and problems can arise if this balance is seriously disturbed, as occurs when puppies are over-supplemented. The calcium to phosphorous ratio of the diet of a dog should be 1.2 to 1 by weight, and the closer the diet is to this optimum ratio the less requirement there is for Viamin D. Unfortunately meat has a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1 to 20. So if you feed your puppy a straight meat diet the ratio will be way out of balance. A persistent imbalance will lead to demineralization of bones causing them to fracture easily, or causing collapsing of the forelegs at about the wrist postion making the stopper pad flat on the ground instead of well off the ground, or causing the forelegs to rotate outwards from the wrist position. All because of an imbalance of calcium and phosphorous. So because meat is so high in phosphorous and so low in calcium, it is important to add a calcium source to your dog's diet. Generally you are advised by breeders of puppies to add a calcium supplement at the rate of one teaspoonsful per 5kg of body weight up to one year of age. Now that's okay providing you are using calcium carbonate or calcium glutonate, which have little or no phosphorous content, and providing your puppy is solely meat fed. But if you are feeding commercially-prepared food, as 85% of owners do, or providing your dog with a varied diet containing meat, bones, eggs, fish, cheese, milk, wheatgerm, leafy green vegetables, brewer's yeast, wholegrains for example, you are in grave danger of over-supplementing your dog. Most calcium-related diseases seen nowadays are a result of over-supplementation rather than under-supplementation. Calcium over-supplementation is equally as dangerous as under-supplementation. Proper assimilation of calcium is dependent upon good levels of hydrochloric acid in the diet. Calcium carbonate supplements are produced from either finely powdered sea shells, egg shells, or limestone, and, by simple analysis the calcium content is very high indeed. But it is very alkaline in it's chemistry, and neutralises the stomach acid during the digestive process, and can pass out through the bowel unchanged. Calcium compounds not excreated from the body build up in various locations, and that is when major problems start occuring. Teething is delayed, sourness sets up in the alimentary system, digestion becomes weak and fermentation occurs. The dog may develop a craving for eggs, or start eating his own bowel motions. Milk will give the dog diarrhoea, and if he eats bones at this stage his bowel motions will become hard, pale or white, and very chalky, or if the bile from his liver accompanies the motions they will be pale green and chalky. Bitches can have a very troublesome, profuse leucorrhoea between seasons. Then come the unhealthy skin conditions, the itchy eruptions, the bacterial skin problems which will drive him mad as he sweats more than usual, the small non-malignant growths and calluses that get caught in the comb when you are grooming him. Until finally, you have a relatively young dog who is over-anxious, easily startled, may be afraid of the dark, thunder, or of being alone, and may appear excessively stupid and become a real trial to teach. So again, you can liken it to a bank balance, except this time you made lots of deposits, became obsessed with the notion that more would be better. And the balance grew and grew, had interest added, and grew more. The rainy day it was put aside for came and went, and the balance was not required. Now there is no use for the excess. The balance is too high for basic comforts, everyone starts to hound you and make you unhappy, and in the end you sincerely wish you had never put it all away in the place. Just like the poor suffering dog and his menacing calcium level. SOURCES OF CALCIUM & PHOSPHOROUS CALCIUM PHOSPHOROUS Cow's milk 0.13 0.094 Dicalcium phosphate 22 18 Tricalcium phosphate 39 20 Bone meal 30 15 Calcium carbonate 40 0 Calcium lactate 13 0 Calcium gluconate 9 0 |
