Why Should PTH Cause Soft Tissue Calcification?

[nigma]

'The parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an important regulator of calcium metabolism. If dietary calcium isn't sufficient, causing blood calcium to decrease, the PTH increases, and removes calcium from bones to maintain a normal amount in the blood. PTH has many other effects, contributing to inflammation, calcification of soft tissues, and decreased respiratory energy production.'

Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths​

Why should PTH cause soft tissue calcification? You would think if serum calcium was low, and PTH was elevated to increase the level, that it would then go where it was needed.. rather than into soft tissue. What are we to think of this? Is it just because PTH is a backup emergency system, operating in a low ATP state of the body, and so things can't be expected to exactly to plan, so you have some collateral damage to tissues?

 

[miki14]

High PTH often means low thyroid, which often leads to high tissue inflammation which leads to increased calcium intake by stressed cells etc

 

[Beefcake]

'The parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an important regulator of calcium metabolism. If dietary calcium isn't sufficient, causing blood calcium to decrease, the PTH increases, and removes calcium from bones to maintain a normal amount in the blood. PTH has many other effects, contributing to inflammation, calcification of soft tissues, and decreased respiratory energy production.'

Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths​

Why should PTH cause soft tissue calcification? You would think if serum calcium was low, and PTH was elevated to increase the level, that it would then go where it was needed.. rather than into soft tissue. What are we to think of this? Is it just because PTH is a backup emergency system, operating in a low ATP state of the body, and so things can't be expected to exactly to plan, so you have some collateral damage to tissues?

Calcium is needed for cells and brain to function. Your bones are a source of calcium (storage). If you don’t eat enough calcium your body will draw out calcium from your bones to compensate for the lack of calcium from your diet. The hormone that does this is the PTH. If you constantly lack calcium from diet you will have chronically elevated PTH. This will over time weaken your bone and since all the calcium is shuttled to your blood you will get arterial calcification. There’s a couple of nutrients that work together to prevent this from happening. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium in the stomach from your diet. Magnesium is needed to activate vitamin D. So both magnesium and vitamin D can help increase calcium. But getting at least RDI in calcium dailys is still good for your health. Then you have vitamin K2. Once vitamin D has absorbed your calcium into your blood stream theres two other enzymes/hormones that decides where its put. Osteoclast and osteoblasts. Osteoclast breaks down bone to the blood and osteoblast shuttles calcium from the blood to build bone. You want to stimulate osteoblasts to build strong bone. Vitamin K2 (MK-4 menatetrenone) is needed to stimulate osteoblasts so that the calcium is shuttled to the bone. Then you also have boron which seems to be a all around player for bone health. It helps absorb and retain magnesium and also activates more vitamin D. It also deposits into the parathyroid inactivating it. There’s loads of more minerals needed for even better bone metabolism like silica, copper and probably some other minerals but they are less important. High PTH is also associated with high prolactin. And eating vitamin D, K2, calcium has all been shown to reduce prolactin most likely by reducing PTH. Prolactin is also dopamine inhibitor so keeping it low is essential for good mood and drive. Vitamin B6 is a prolactin inhibitor so my guess is that vitamin B6 is probably also needed for strong bones. Think B6 and magnesium works together aswell. You see the pattern. It’s complex and all vitamins and minerals most likely work in synergy and theres a balance and homeostasis that you don’t want to disturb by oversupplementing with something. Vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia which is to much calcium in the blood. It depletes magnesium and probably increase the need for K2. Vitamin A can stop vitamin D toxicity also by the osteoclast mechanism.

 

[nigma]

High PTH often means low thyroid, which often leads to high tissue inflammation which leads to increased calcium intake by stressed cells etc

Thank you for your reply. Very interesting about the low thyroid, tissue inflammation.

So calcium is needed by cells for healthy metabolism, but more so when they are inflammed? why? what is is used for? or does it just use it less efficiently?

 

[nigma]

Calcium is needed for cells and brain to function. Your bones are a source of calcium (storage). If you don’t eat enough calcium your body will draw out calcium from your bones to compensate for the lack of calcium from your diet. The hormone that does this is the PTH. If you constantly lack calcium from diet you will have chronically elevated PTH. This will over time weaken your bone and since all the calcium is shuttled to your blood you will get arterial calcification. There’s a couple of nutrients that work together to prevent this from happening. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium in the stomach from your diet. Magnesium is needed to activate vitamin D. So both magnesium and vitamin D can help increase calcium. But getting at least RDI in calcium dailys is still good for your health. Then you have vitamin K2. Once vitamin D has absorbed your calcium into your blood stream theres two other enzymes/hormones that decides where its put. Osteoclast and osteoblasts. Osteoclast breaks down bone to the blood and osteoblast shuttles calcium from the blood to build bone. You want to stimulate osteoblasts to build strong bone. Vitamin K2 (MK-4 menatetrenone) is needed to stimulate osteoblasts so that the calcium is shuttled to the bone. Then you also have boron which seems to be a all around player for bone health. It helps absorb and retain magnesium and also activates more vitamin D. It also deposits into the parathyroid inactivating it. There’s loads of more minerals needed for even better bone metabolism like silica, copper and probably some other minerals but they are less important. High PTH is also associated with high prolactin. And eating vitamin D, K2, calcium has all been shown to reduce prolactin most likely by reducing PTH. Prolactin is also dopamine inhibitor so keeping it low is essential for good mood and drive. Vitamin B6 is a prolactin inhibitor so my guess is that vitamin B6 is probably also needed for strong bones. Think B6 and magnesium works together aswell. You see the pattern. It’s complex and all vitamins and minerals most likely work in synergy and theres a balance and homeostasis that you don’t want to disturb by oversupplementing with something. Vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia which is to much calcium in the blood. It depletes magnesium and probably increase the need for K2. Vitamin A can stop vitamin D toxicity also by the osteoclast mechanism.

Thank you. Great post summarising bone health.

Do you know what calcium is used for by cells? I mean in terms of cell maintenance? I remember Ray mentioning he thought calcium (Ca2+) was taken out of the cell by CO2 along with acid..

I know plant cells use calcium to build their cell walls, but dunno about mammalian cells.

 

[yerrag]

PTH causes the calcitriol, the activated form of vitamin D, to be converted in order to signal osteoclast activity in the bone to cause bone resorption, or the release of calcium from the bones. Calcitriol also produces a stressful response. I think this has been discussed in a newsletter of his, but I'd have to look back to find it.

 

[Peatit]

since all the calcium is shuttled to your blood you will get arterial calcification.

this doesn't sound right by itself...
Unless considerered together with

High PTH often means low thyroid, which often leads to high tissue inflammation which leads to increased calcium intake by stressed cells etc

which then could be a plausible explanation... But still I think that high PTH even in euthyroid condition could cause soft tissues calcification and we don't have yet any explanatory mechanism

 

[Beefcake]

this doesn't sound right by itself...
Unless considerered together with
which then could be a plausible explanation... But still I think that high PTH even in euthyroid condition could cause soft tissues calcification and we don't have yet any explanatory mechanism

Yes we do osteoclasts and osteoblasts regulate of calcium goes to bone or to soft tissue and cell usage. If you have excess osteoclasts you can expect your tissues to be overflooded with calcium and reactions starts to happen.

 

[SOMO]

Calcium is used for muscle contraction and it helps you walk upright and not dissolve into a puddle.

Calcium keeps the cells rigid and so it is found in all cells at low concentrations, as far as I know.

But too much intercellular calcium causes too much contraction (inability for muscle to relax and allow proper blood flow). It also causes the cell to be more rigid and rupture from mechanical or chemical stressors.

Also the form of calcium in bones is non-ionic, but it still serves the purpose of being a rigid building material.

 

[ShotTrue]

Calcium is needed for cells and brain to function. Your bones are a source of calcium (storage). If you don’t eat enough calcium your body will draw out calcium from your bones to compensate for the lack of calcium from your diet. The hormone that does this is the PTH. If you constantly lack calcium from diet you will have chronically elevated PTH. This will over time weaken your bone and since all the calcium is shuttled to your blood you will get arterial calcification. There’s a couple of nutrients that work together to prevent this from happening. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium in the stomach from your diet. Magnesium is needed to activate vitamin D. So both magnesium and vitamin D can help increase calcium. But getting at least RDI in calcium dailys is still good for your health. Then you have vitamin K2. Once vitamin D has absorbed your calcium into your blood stream theres two other enzymes/hormones that decides where its put. Osteoclast and osteoblasts. Osteoclast breaks down bone to the blood and osteoblast shuttles calcium from the blood to build bone. You want to stimulate osteoblasts to build strong bone. Vitamin K2 (MK-4 menatetrenone) is needed to stimulate osteoblasts so that the calcium is shuttled to the bone. Then you also have boron which seems to be a all around player for bone health. It helps absorb and retain magnesium and also activates more vitamin D. It also deposits into the parathyroid inactivating it. There’s loads of more minerals needed for even better bone metabolism like silica, copper and probably some other minerals but they are less important. High PTH is also associated with high prolactin. And eating vitamin D, K2, calcium has all been shown to reduce prolactin most likely by reducing PTH. Prolactin is also dopamine inhibitor so keeping it low is essential for good mood and drive. Vitamin B6 is a prolactin inhibitor so my guess is that vitamin B6 is probably also needed for strong bones. Think B6 and magnesium works together aswell. You see the pattern. It’s complex and all vitamins and minerals most likely work in synergy and theres a balance and homeostasis that you don’t want to disturb by oversupplementing with something. Vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia which is to much calcium in the blood. It depletes magnesium and probably increase the need for K2. Vitamin A can stop vitamin D toxicity also by the osteoclast mechanism.

Nice!

 

[ShotTrue]

Also the 5th thyroid hormone, calcitonin counteracts and prevents overexpression of the parathyroid hormone. I believe that's why taking suppressive synethic thyroid hormone can cause calcification issues

 

[haidut]

Also the 5th thyroid hormone, calcitonin counteracts and prevents overexpression of the parathyroid hormone. I believe that's why taking suppressive synethic thyroid hormone can cause calcification issues

Fully agree, and this is why good quality NDT is typically preferable to the synthetic T4/T3. However, most vendors on the NDT market, and especially Armour, remove calcitonin from NDT and sell it separately as an anti-hypercalcemia drug at an absurd markup. Most NDT products on the market are crippled not so much because of FDA regulations but because the vendors want to partition the ingredients and make as much profit as possible from selling them separately.

 

[dreamcatcher]

Fully agree, and this is why good quality NDT is typically preferable to the synthetic T4/T3. However, most vendors on the NDT market, and especially Armour, remove calcitonin from NDT and sell it separately as an anti-hypercalcemia drug at an absurd markup. Most NDT products on the market are crippled not so much because of FDA regulations but because the vendors want to partition the ingredients and make as much profit as possible from selling them separately.

If that's the case, why would Ray Peat recommend Cynoplus?

 

[haidut]

If that's the case, why would Ray Peat recommend Cynoplus?

Precisely because of the adulteration of all the NDT he said he has tried over the years, and especially Armour. So, he said he does not really trust anything else. He talks about this as well in several interviews. If you Google for "ray peat armour thyroid" those interviews will probably come up.

 

[haidut]

.

 

[dreamcatcher]

Precisely because of the adulteration of all the NDT he said he has tried over the years, and especially Armour. So, he said he does not really trust anything else. He talks about this as well in several interviews. If you Google for "ray peat armour thyroid" those interviews will probably come up.

Thank you! @haidut

 

[Jing]

Fully agree, and this is why good quality NDT is typically preferable to the synthetic T4/T3. However, most vendors on the NDT market, and especially Armour, remove calcitonin from NDT and sell it separately as an anti-hypercalcemia drug at an absurd markup. Most NDT products on the market are crippled not so much because of FDA regulations but because the vendors want to partition the ingredients and make as much profit as possible from selling them separately.

I recently bought T3 and have been using it for a little while now I feel better with it than without but now I'm reading this so I am risking calcification by taking this?

 

[haidut]

I recently bought T3 and have been using it for a little while now I feel better with it than without but now I'm reading this so I am risking calcification by taking this?

No, where did you see me imply that? All I said is that NDT contains a protein that has been isolated and sold separately by greedy pharma companies as a drug to treat hypercalcemia. How do you go from that to assuming lack of it in a product will cause calcification??

 

[Jing]

No, where did you see me imply that? All I said is that NDT contains a protein that has been isolated and sold separately by greedy pharma companies as a drug to treat hypercalcemia. How do you go from that to assuming lack of it in a product will cause calcification??

From what shottrue said about the 5th thyroid hormone he said I believe that's why taking suppressive synthetic thyroid hormone can cause calcification issues ... And then you replied saying you fully agree?

 

[stargazer1111]

this doesn't sound right by itself...
Unless considerered together with
which then could be a plausible explanation... But still I think that high PTH even in euthyroid condition could cause soft tissues calcification and we don't have yet any explanatory mechanism

I think it has more to do with vitamin k2 deficiency. A deficiency of vitamin k2 leaves most of the matrix GLA protein in the body uncarboxylated. Uncarboxylated matrix GLA protein actually takes calcium from the bone into the soft tissue where it doesn’t belong. Vitamin k2 carboxylates matrix GLA protein. Carboxylated matrix GLA protein has the opposite effect, taking calcium out of the soft tissue/blood and putting it into the bones and teeth where it belongs.

I suspect that high PTH in the context of proper vitamin k2 levels would not lead to calcification.