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Cancer Decisions

THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (12/07/03)

 

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com

Newsletter #111 12/07/03

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A CLOSER LOOK AT CORAL CALCIUM, continued

 

 

 

Another claim that Mr.Robert Barefoot, enthusiastic

champion of coral calcium, makes in his books and

infomercials is that it is positively beneficial to

consume huge amounts of calcium.

 

 

Take the following statement, for example, made by Mr.

Barefoot in one of his infomercials: " [W]e went around

the world and said, are there other places around the

world where no one has cancer, no one has diabetes, and

lo and behold, there are 19 different cultures spread

all over the world, 10,000 miles apart, and we say

what's the common denominator. And the common

denominator is… the fact that they eat 100,000

milligrams of calcium a day. "

 

 

Barefoot implies that 100,000 milligrams (about four

ounces) of calcium per day is not only non-toxic but is

actually extremely healthful. Many medical experts

strongly disagree, stating that an overdose of calcium

could lead to hypercalcemia, a dangerous excess of

calcium in the blood. The Merck Manual clearly states

that hypercalcemia can be caused by the ingestion of

large amounts of calcium. Here is the Manual's

description of hypercalcemia:

 

 

" The earliest symptoms are usually constipation,

nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and

abnormally large amounts of urine. Very severe

hypercalcemia often causes brain dysfunction with

confusion, emotional disturbances, delirium,

hallucinations, and coma. Muscle weakness may occur,

and abnormal heart rhythms and death can follow. Kidney

stones containing calcium may form in people with

chronic hypercalcemia " (Merck 2003).

 

 

It is especially alarming that excessive amounts of

calcium are being urged on cancer patients, many of

whom already suffer from hypercalcemia since tumors

themselves can disturb calcium metabolism (in what are

called paraneoplastic syndromes).

 

 

The centerpiece of Mr. Barefoot's presentation,

however, is his claim that there are 19 populations

around the world that are virtually cancer-free.

Members of these cultures supposedly have no chronic

diseases and consistently live to ripe old ages. The

reason for their spectacular good health? Coral

calcium, of course! (To a hammer, everything looks like

a nail.) He singles out the people who live on the

southern Japanese island of Okinawa as a prime example.

 

 

The following dialogue comes from one of Barefoot's

infomercials:

 

 

BAREFOOT: [About Okinawans]: Well, they do have cancer,

but the rate is so phenomenally low.

 

KEVIN TRUDEAU: Okay.

 

ROBERT BAREFOOT: Virtually no cancer.

 

 

 

This is a half-truth, which contains a serious

misrepresentation. It is true that the Okinawans on the

whole enjoy greater longevity and generally better

health than Americans. Researchers who conducted the

celebrated Okinawan Centenarian Study have found that

Okinawans statistically suffer lower mortality from

heart disease, and breast and prostate cancers than

Westerners, and more frequently reach the century mark

per capita. It is a scientific investigation with

fascinating implications.

 

 

However, Mr. Barefoot errs in stating that Okinawans'

good health is due to the fact that they consume more

than 100 times the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)

for calcium. They don't.

 

 

" The fact is that when it comes to calcium in the

diet, " wrote the scientists who conducted the

Okinawan Centenarian Study, " research shows that the

United States is actually near the top of the list at

about 800 mg [milligrams] per day…with the Scandinavian

countries, such as Finland (1,300+ mg day) being the

world's leaders in calcium consumption. Okinawans

actually consume less calcium than their Western

counterparts. The average calcium intake in Okinawa is

only about 500 mg a day (1998 Okinawa Prefecture Health

and Nutrition Survey). This is a far cry from claims of

'100,000 mg of calcium a day' for the average Okinawan

as claimed in a recent TV infomercial. "

 

 

Here are the reasons that these scientists give for the

greater longevity on their island. Okinawans in

general:

 

 

--Eat a low-calorie, mostly plant-based diet with

plenty of fish and soy foods and a great variety of

vegetables as well as moderate amounts of the right

kinds of fats;

 

--Get regular, life-long physical activity;

 

--Enjoy strong social and community support for the

elderly; and

 

--Realize the health benefits of a universal,

affordable medical-welfare system that focuses on a

preventive approach and integrates much of what is good

about Eastern medicine with the best of the West

(Okinawan 2003).

 

 

 

None of these factors is as easy to achieve as popping

a supplement that one picks up at the checkout stand,

but they are all very worthwhile goals for both

individuals and societies.

 

 

The Okinawans also worry about the environmental impact

of the coral calcium fad. " Okinawa's reefs are facing

an unprecedented crisis due to sedimentation from large

scale development, global warming and pollution, " they

write. " Over half have been lost in the last five

years. We, at The Okinawa Centenarian Study, take the

position that the reefs of Okinawa need to be protected

rather than exploited. " Amen.

 

 

Okinawans have reason to celebrate their generally good

health and we have much to learn from them. Yet it is

untrue that they are free from the scourge of cancer.

For instance, the Department of Oral Surgery of Ryukyu

University Hospital in Okinawa treated 188 cases of

oral malignant tumors from 1996 to 2000 (Higa 2003).

That's nearly 50 cases per year of just one kind of

cancer treated at just one Okinawan hospital.

 

 

One reads in the medical literature that " in

Okinawa…squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is prevalent "

(Nakazato 1997). There are also scientific reports on

cancer of the thymus (Ogawa 2002), cervix (Maehama

2002), lymphoma (Miyagi 2002), etc. The idea that

Okinawans do not suffer cancer is false. It is an

evocation of mankind's ancient dream of Shangri-la, a

mythic society in which no one gets sick or grows old.

Unfortunately, in this case it is a myth in the service

of commerce.

 

 

 

History of Charlatanism

 

 

 

The whole coral calcium phenomenon is amazing and

worthy of a book-length expose. Medical charlatanism

has a long history, particularly in the USA. The quacks

and charlatans of old made their way up and down the

East coast in the 19th century and then penetrated deep

into the interior, hawking their wares. Generally, one

miraculous panacea would be offered to cure all human

ills. These bottles were filled with mysterious and

secret ingredients, and often assumed the mantle of

Native American medicine, but they shared a common

denominator: such potions almost always included

alcohol or narcotics.

 

 

There are many amusing or horrifying portraits of these

charlatans in literature, such as Mark Twain's classic

description of the encounter of two such fakers in his

classic Huckleberry Finn:

 

 

Charlatan #1: " Jour printer by trade; do a little in

patent medicines; theater-actor -- tragedy, you know;

take a turn to mesmerism and phrenology when there's a

chance…oh, I do lots of things -- most anything that

comes handy, so it ain't work. What's your lay? "

 

 

Charlatan #2: " I've done considerable in the doctoring

way in my time. Layin' on o' hands is my best holt --

for cancer and paralysis, and sich things… "

 

 

 

Typically, the quack arrived in an area populated by

semi-literate folk afflicted by the " the thousand

natural shocks that flesh is heir to. " At that time

there were few if any effective treatments or qualified

doctors available and most people could not afford to

spend a large amount of money on their health. The

claims of a treatment's effectiveness came bolstered by

testimonials from patients who had allegedly been

cured, and from big city doctors who had been paid for

their endorsements.

 

 

Today, we live in a more enlightened age. Most people

in industrialized countries have completed high school

and many have gone to college as well. We have instant

access to medical information through the mass media

and especially over the Internet. There are excellent

Web sites that give accurate information on cancer and

many other diseases. Yet despite the unprecedented

availability of detailed information, we have not seen

a proportionate decline in the promotion or popularity

of nostrums and cure-alls.

 

 

There are many reasons for this disturbing phenomenon.

Here are a few of them:

 

 

-- There are still many diseases for which there are no

reliable cures, including many forms of advanced

cancer.

 

-- The treatments that exist may come with very serious

side effects, some of which have gained a reputation

for being worse than the disease itself.

 

-- Medical care in rural areas of the USA is inadequate,

with few hospitals and chronic shortages of primary

doctors and appropriate specialists.

 

-- Forty-four million Americans have no health insurance

at all and many others cannot afford the treatments that

may be available.

 

-- There is widespread skepticism (sometimes verging on

paranoia) about the statements coming from orthodox

medical sources, based on the unhealthily close

connection between Big Pharma and the medical profession.

 

 

 

All of which provides a fertile breeding ground for

fraudulent treatments. As the coral calcium fad shows,

it is still possible in this day and age to put across

a colossal promotion of this sort if one can get the

backing of a huge marketing organization. I am sure we

have not seen the last of such phenomena.

 

 

On the other hand, while I think the FTC action was

justified in this case, I am generally leery of

solutions that rely on governmental prosecution. The

government has blundered terribly in the past. In its

worthy attempts to crush fraudulent treatments it has

often ended up vigorously and indiscriminately

attacking many promising new treatments that have

emerged from alternative medicine. Once the repressive

mechanisms of official oversight are geared up, they

tend to see scams in every unconventional medical

development, and have been known to generate

prosecutions for no other reason than to further jobs

and careers. As the ancient historian Tacitus said,

" Who will guard the guardians? " (Quis custodiet ipsos

custodes?)

 

 

I applaud the Council on Responsible Nutrition (as well

as the Okinawa Centenarian Study and CAM leaders such

as Andrew Weil, MD) for boldly speaking out on the

coral calcium issue. Self-policing is a sign of

maturity in any profession, and if the food supplement

industry wants credibility it has to denounce the

frauds in its own midst in a timely manner.

 

 

Above all, it is the responsibility of every consumer

to find reliable sources of information on new

treatments. There are abundant books, articles,

newsletters and Web sites that can provide accurate

information on alternative treatments. These can help

to guard against exaggerated or fraudulent claims, such

as those that have been made on behalf of coral

calcium.

 

 

 

 

--Ralph W. Moss, PhD

 

=======================

 

References:

 

 

Barefoot RR. Death By Calcium, 4th Edition. Southeastern,

PA: Triad Marketing, 2002.

 

Barefoot RR. Barefoot on Coral Calcium: An Elixir of Life.

Newark, NJ: Wellness Publishing, 2001.

 

Baron JA, Tosteson TD, Wargovich MJ, et al. Calcium

supplementation and rectal mucosal proliferation: a

randomized controlled trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Sep

6;87(17):1303-7.

 

Chan JM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, Gann PH, Gaziano JM, Giovannucci

EL. Dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the

Physicians' Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001

Oct;74(4):549-54.

 

CNR Statement:

http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/35h16145457.html

 

Higa M, Kinjo T, Kamiyama K, et al. Epstein-Barr virus

(EBV)-related oral squamous cell carcinoma in Okinawa, a

subtropical island, in southern Japan--simultaneously

infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). Oral Oncol. 2003

Jun;39(4):405-14.

 

Holt PR, Atillasoy EO, Gilman J, et al. Modulation of

abnormal colonic epithelial cell proliferation and

differentiation by low-fat dairy foods: a randomized

controlled trial. JAMA. 1998 Sep 23-30;280(12):1074-9.

 

Maehama T, Asato T, Kanazawa K. Prevalence of human

papillomavirus in cervical swabs in the Okinawa Islands,

Japan. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2002 Dec;267(2):64-6.

 

Merck Manual:

http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home2/sec12/ch155/ch155b.htm

 

Miyagi J, Toda T, Uezato H, Ohshima K, Miyakuni T, Takasu N,

Masuda M. Detection of Epstein-Barr virus and human T-cell

lymphotropic virus type 1 in malignant nodal lymphoma,

studied in Okinawa, a subtropical area in Japan.Int J

Hematol. 2002 Jan;75(1):78-84.

 

Nakazato I, Hirayasu T, Kamada Y, Tsuhako K, Iwamasa T.

Carcinoma of the lung in Okinawa, Japan: with special

reference to squamous cell carcinoma and squamous

metaplasia. Pathol Int. 1997 Oct;47(10):659-72.

 

Ogawa K, Toita T, Uno T, et al. Treatment and prognosis of

thymic carcinoma: a retrospective analysis of 40 cases.

Cancer. 2002 Jun 15;94(12):3115-9.

 

Okinawan Centenarian Study 2003 position paper on coral calcium:

http://www.okinawaprogram.com/coral_calcium/coral-calcium.html

 

Van Gorkom BA, Karrenbeld A, van der Sluis T, et al. Calcium

or resistant starch does not affect colonic epithelial cell

proliferation throughout the colon in adenoma patients: a

randomized controlled trial. Nutr Cancer. 2002;43(1):31-8.

 

Wang LD, Zhou Q, Feng CW, et al. Intervention and follow-up

on human esophageal precancerous lesions in Henan, northern

China, a high-incidence area for esophageal cancer. Gan To

Kagaku Ryoho. 2002 Feb;29 Suppl 1:159-72.

 

Dr. Weil's statement:

http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.html-command=TodayQA-pt=Question-questionI\

d=73935

 

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

 

 

 

The news and other items in this newsletter are

intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in

this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for

professional medical advice.

 

 

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