Rocks which contain abundant calcium carbonate are referred to as calcareous rocks. Carbonate minerals are easy to identify because they react - they 'fizz' readily - with hydrochloric acid.

Stomach makes hydrochloric (digestive) acid; Tums is made of calcium carbonate rock; Tums in stomach acid causes 'fizz'; acid and rock are both neutralized.

Tums is an antacid made from rock. Tums is NOT a calcium supplement. Antacids do NOT reverse bone loss and prevent osteoporosis. Calcium in this form (calcium carbonate) is called 'elemental' calcium. Sucking on a rock is not a good way to get your daily minerals.

Rather than being absorbed into the cells, some of it ends up floating around in the blood stream as excess unusable calcium, also known as 'hypercalcemia'.

The body tries to get rid of it; some of the calcium gets parked in places it doesn't belong, like the joints or kidneys. In most people, the rest goes right through the intestines and causes constipation.

For calcium we can really use, we need to eat vegetables.

Plants growing in the dirt and clay, with natural rock and sand already in the soil, can absorb the calcium and other mineralsfrom the ground, and transform the minerals into materials we humans can use.

It is the transformation through the living plant that makes vegetables our best useful source of calcium. We cannot just suck on a rock and think we are gaining a benefit from that.

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Severe GERD? MUST DO!
Sensitive Digestion Formula
Help your gut begin to function normally,
from the first bite of food to the efficient elimination of waste,
as nature intended.

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Some Interesting Antacid History

Some, including myself, think GlaxoSmithKline is marketing their Tums product based on hype, fear and mis-information. And they are making billions.

The hype began in 1984. Notice the quotation marks around the word epidemic, below... this is exactly how it appears on their webpage.

From the Tums® website:

• "1984-85 - The osteoporosis "epidemic" makes news. Consumer Reports and USA Today cite Tums® as a good source of calcium."
• "1986 - The Beecham Group acquires Norcliff Thayer which includes Tums®. Tums® becomes the #1 antacid brand. Tums® begins advertising the calcium benefit for the whole family."

Idiocy, Pretending To Be Science

Imagine this... a few people working for large corporations, searching for profits, seeking to increase sales so they can get a year-end bonus... are recommending antacids, every day, "For the whole family." In fact, Glaxo now has Tums for Kids.

SmithGlaxo has been telling us for years now that the best source for calcium is tums - when it just isn't true. Tums is NOT the best source of calcium, not for any of us humans.

And this foolishness gets worse. Now they are suggesting tums as a calcium supplement during pregnancy! How absurd! Tums and pregnancy! As if Tums somehow was a real calcium supplement!

Plus, according to the directions, Tums should be taken with meals - which destroys the stomach acid needed to digest the meal - which can lead to malnutrition by damaging normal digestion with every meal eaten.

Not knowing this, though, and in good faith, after seeing the ads, too many people do what their doctor tells them. Many pregnant women take 1 or 2 tums with each meal, thinking they are providing good nutrition for their unborn. Instead, the antacid is actually destroying the stomach acid the mother needs to properly digest and absorb that meal. One asks what kind of nutrition is then available for the yet-to-be-born child?

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Acid indigestion or gastric reflux may be related to a
digestive system that is clogged and doesn't work right.

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I am not against profits... I am concerned with telling lies in pursuit of profits by wrecking the digestion and health of Americans, telling them it is for their own good.

There is something wrong with this, and far too many otherwise knowledgable medical doctors have jumped on board.

The fear has developed since 1984 with millions spent on advertising, enough to give Tums® a leading position in the marketplace. This is now presented in such a way that we are all running scared, afraid we will die from 'brittle bones'. They are connecting the condition, 'osteoporosis', to Tums as the 'salvation'. This is wrong.

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The marketing of fear: It looks like this (from GlaxoSmithKline's calcium site):

The mis-information includes some of what we spoke of above, and more.

For example, you might find this interesting: The Tums Calcium Calculator.

The calcium 'calculator' shows that 1,200mg is the 'daily amount of calcium' target. And so it is, based on the Recommended Daily Requirements.

According to the Surgeon General's Report on Osteoporosis and Bone Health, the starting point for daily calcium is our food.

We are supposed to calculate our daily calcium intake by reviewing the food we commonly eat. We first ask questions such as - How much calcium do we get from our brocolli, tuna sandwich, or from our yogurt?

We are supposed to add that all up, and then we supplement the difference if we fall short.

It is easy to estimate your daily dietary calcium from this free brochure from the Office of the Surgeon General.

It would seem the SmithGlaxoKline people, who make and sell literally tons of Tums, have not read these two very simple pages from the Surgeon General. But we know they have, because they quote the report on another page on the site.

The Tums people have developed their own Tums Calcium Calculator.

At first glance, it looks great, and starts out with the right idea. It appears as if it is determining the food sources and calcium amounts in the food for us.

It all is very impressive until you put in your age, and push the button to calculate.

The answer window tells you to "Take 2 Tums® every day!".

It is interesting that it makes no difference what combination of foods you input - try it - the result calculated is the same, every time.

If your input comes to 1199mg, or any number less than 1200mg calcium from your food, then "Take 2 Tums" is the answer. In fact, this is response the same for every number until you get to 1201mg, and then that answer goes away.

I suppose they know there would be trouble if you are getting enough calcium from your food, and they still recommend 2 Tums.

For example, what if you are already getting 1,000mg of calcium from your food; and you take 2 Tums a day, or worse, 2 tums with each meal. Now you have an overdose of non-usable calcium that your body has to deal with - the results can create some serious health problems. The condition is called 'hypercalcemia', and it interferes with muscle and nerve function at a cellular level, can lead to kidney and other problems.

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The big drug companies ('Big Pharma')) spend a lot of money to get us buy their products, especially if they can develop a once-a-day habit to sell more of their drugs.

Check it all out, you'll find the information presented here is fair, honest, and accurate.

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Severe GERD? MUST DO!
Sensitive Digestion Formula
Help your gut begin to function normally again,
from start to finish, as nature intended.

---

If you are one of those who, in good faith, took your doctor's advice when they told you antacids were okay, it is time to re-evaluate your position on this.

This a trap that many of us fall in to. Information is the key to the trap, now let yourself out.

Check out pH Balance to learn about a different way to look at our food and enhance our bone strength.

Things We Know About Antacids:

• No antacid, including Tums®, is a calcium supplement.

• These products work to neutralize stomach acid - they should be used only as directed for occasional upset stomach.

• Continued daily use for the wrong reasons has other hazards; but we don't know what they are. As mentioned above, "The long-term effects of inhibiting stomach acid production are unknown."

• They do not support normal healthy digestive processes.

• They interfere with normal healthy digestive processes.

• Interrupting normal, healthy processes take us further from health.

• Supporting normal, healthy processes bring us closer to health.

• We are able to prevent this 'osteoporosis epidemic' without fear, using natural methods that you know are right.

• There are better, safer, more natural ways reduce the occasional symptoms of heartburn and to get your calcium needs filled.

By eating differently you can reduce the occasional heartburn. And by giving your body what it needs, it will function more normally. These changes can be so simple, and can make such a difference with your health and energy.

For example, a simple addition to your daily routine can make a difference for your digestion within days. My wife and I do this for ourselves, and it can safely be recommended for everyone:

For real nutritional supplements, take powdered veggies and fruits in a capsule. Concentrated powders of simple plants can help you get nutrients you have been missing, may improve your digestion and elimination.

For all-natural digestive supports, try Digestion Pack or Enzyme Advantage.

Give your body the tools it is starving for, supplements it can effectively use to improve your health.

Dr. Martin McIntosh

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