A Book Review: The Calcium Lie II – What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know

In 2008 the authors published the first edition, The Calcium Lie – What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know Could Kill You. Then in 2013 they updated the information in The Calcium Lie – What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know. In this review, we will examine the revised edition.

Dr. Robert Thompson, MD who maintains a medical practice in Alaska, at one time did not know what he is expounding in this book. He, like most well-meaning medical professionals, treated patients according to what he had been taught in medical school over many years. Kathleen Barnes, health journalist and author, lives in North Carolina. Dr. Thompson says Kathleen helps him communicate in terms his readers will understand.

This reviewer has administered many homeschooling assessments over the years in which the General Information section of the tool she uses includes a question: “Which mineral is most needed to make bones hard?” Several answered correctly, according to what they learned and according to the “Calcium” assessment tool.

Our authors would like to remind us that the test that determines whether a patient has osteoporosis or its precursor, osteopenia, is the dexa MINERAL bone scan. This name should help us remember that bones are made up of many minerals, including calcium. By only supplementing with calcium, we harden more than just our bones – calcification can occur in the arteries, kidneys and other places in our body. Dr. Thompson reminds us throughout the book that “calcium hardens concrete!”

Entering medicine with “altruistic” ideas, Dr. Thompson had become disenchanted with his profession, ready to quit. He reconsidered when, in 1996, a peer-reviewed directory chose him as one of “America’s Top Doctors.” Encouraged, he decided to continue making a difference.

Minerally Bankrupt (Chapter 1) – This foundational chapter states that bones are made up of at least 12 minerals. “Excess calcium can cause:

• Kidney and gallstones

• Arterial plaque (and heart disease)

• Bone spurs (joints / osteoarthritis)

• Calcium deposits in tissues other than bone

• Brain cell dysfunction, brain shrinkage and dementia.” (p. 9)

• Cataracts

• Cancer

• Diabetes

• Hypothyroidism

• Hypertension (p. 29)

• Obesity (p. 39)

• Migraines (p. 43)

“Too much calcium causes the adrenal glands to suppress so that the kidneys retain the magnesium needed to try to maintain the balance of these two minerals.” (page 19)

Before the invention of refrigeration, our ancestors used sea or rock salt to preserve food. Our natural balance of minerals is gone with this change. “Because a mineral ‘fingerprint’ is passed from mother to child, each generation has become progressively more deficient in these essential minerals.” (page 12)

To add more damage to our systems, when the use of iodine in bread and preserves was replaced with cheaper bromine, we began to see an increase in “thyroid disease and cancer, breast cysts, fibrotic changes, cyclic tenderness and cancer, prostate inflammation and cancer, and ovarian hormonal dysfunction, ovarian cysts, endometriosis and ovarian cancer.” (page 13)

Table salt destroys health and the best mineral supplement is unrefined rock or sea salt. Dr. Thompson explains that the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HMTA) gives the best possible analysis of mineral levels and guides the doctor in proper supplementation. He only recommends Trace Minerals, Inc. to do the test.

Throughout the book, Dr. Thompson gives mini-lessons in biochemistry that all doctors study in medical school. Surprisingly, most doctors have forgotten their biochemistry and continue to follow the “calcium lie”, “the calcium myth” (chapter 2) and “the vitamin lie” (chapter 7).

Our authors devote chapters to the following health issues and their connection to calcium:

• Osteoporosis, Arthrosis and Calcium (chapter 3)

• Dilemmas: poor protein digestion, sodium deficiency and cell membrane dysfunction (chapter 4)

• Metabolic Failure How Excess Calcium Causes Weight Gain, Thyroid and Adrenal Dysfunction, and Five Types of Hypothyroidism (Chapter 5)

• Women’s issues: pregnancy, childbirth and menopause (chapter 6)

Stress plays a key role in our health. Thompson and Barnes address this issue and its relationship to calcium (Chapter 8). They emphasize that “stress management should be an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.” (p.176)

In Chapter 9, The Road Back to Health, they give their readers the following steps:

1. Drink pure water.

2. Take ionic sea salt – derivative supplements.

3. Whole food vitamins.

4. Essential fatty acids

5. Eat raw nuts and/or seeds daily.

6. Eat high quality protein.

7. Get essential monosaccharides. (pp. 184-195)

The Calcium Lie II ends with Chapter 10, “Doctor to Doctor: An Passioned Plea.” He encourages his readers to copy this chapter and bring it back to their doctors or, better yet, buy a copy of the book for their doctors.

Dr. Thompson and Kathleen Barnes present the facts behind their claims. Reading and following their advice will improve our health.