beansandSoybeansbeingwellbalancedatapproximatelya1:2ratio.Mostnutshaveacceptablera-
tios,AlmondsandFilberts(hazelnuts)beingthemostbalanced,andPeanutsandCashewsbeingthe
worst. 234 Oftheseeds,sesameseedshaveabalancedrationofapproximately2:1ratio,beinghigher
incalciumthanphosphorous.Sunflowerseedsarehighinphosphorousrelativetocalcium,havinga
ratioofabout1:8,andpumpkinseeds,whicharerecommendedforprostateconditionsduetotheir
highzinccontent,arerelativelyhighinphosphorousataratioof1:20,andthusshouldbeused
primarilyasasupplementratherthanastaplefood. 235 (Note:DataforFlaxseedwasnotreported).
Interestingly,thoughnotsurprisingafterallwehavelearnedaboutvegetableandfruits,mostveget-
ablesandfruitsarerelativelybalancedinthetheircalcium:phosphorousratios,andthereforecanbe
eaten abundantly.
Why Calcium is So Important?
“BreathingEasy”,byLendonSmith,M.D.,inthebookFeedYourKidsRight,
Dell Pub. Co. Inc., 1979.
“Calcium is required all our lives for bones, teeth, muscle, nerve function, and for
blood clotting. Muscle pains, cramps, twitches and even convulsions may suggest
calcium deficiency.“
The Recognition of the Importance of Calcium
“Calciummustcertainlybethemajorbioelementofthetimes.Onlyageneration
agothecalciumionwasknowntophysiologistsandbiochemistsasacomponentof
bonemineralandasabloodplasmaconstituentrequiredinheartfunctionand
bloodcoagulation,butlittlemore.But,inthe1970’sacrescendoofcalciumionre-
searchdeveloped.Todayweknowdozensifnothundredsofdifferentcellularand
extracellularprocessesthatareregulatedbythechangesincytosolicorextracellu-
larcalciumions.Indeed,thecalciumionisemergingasamostimportantandubi-
quitousintracellularmessenger”(Foreword,AlbertLehniger,ProfessorofMedical
Science, John Hopkins University).
“Aswehaveseen,calciumiscentraltotheorderedprogressionofreplicatingcells
throughtheirgrowth-divisioncycle.Neoplasticepitheliaandmesenchymallyde-
rivedcellscaninitiateDNAsynthesesandproliferatenormallyinalowcalcium
medium,whichdoesnotsupporttheproliferationoftheirnormalcounterparts.
Besidesneedingcalciumions,normalcellsmustadequatelyspreadoutonasolid
substratebeforetheyareabletoinitiateDNAsyntheses.Calciumisspecificallyre-
quiredforspreading.Loweringtheextracellularcalciumandpreventingspreading
bothblocktheinitiationofDNAsynthesis,withoutstoppingon-goingDNAsynthes-
is.Theeliminationofextracellularcalciumrequirementforproliferationofviruses
canbemimickedbyexposingproliferativelyinactivecalcium-deprivednormalcells
tocalcium-independent-nucleotideproteinKinases locatedinthe plasma