Tums....

Let's talk about how mass marketing affects our perception of health and how the individual's best interest (Health wise) is purposely thwarted due to corporate greed. Today, lets talk about "Tums", the world's most famous "anti-acid".

Its common practice for the typical MD to suggest that patients take Tums as a source of Calcium. You'll notice the label on the bottle that advertises "Calcium", so far so good right? Wrong! There are several pieces missing in this nice little equation.

First, the Calcium is in the form of Calcium Carbonate (aka Chalk) - mmmmm, chalk (drool - Homer Simpson style). The body has a very difficult time absorbing this form of Calcium as chalk isn't in any of the major food groups.

Second, there are several conditions in the digestive tract that need to be met before Calcium (of any sort) can be absorbed into the body. The Calcium requires Vitamin D3, Magnesium, and acid (as in stomach acid).

Tums doesn't contain Vitamin D3, so we can scratch that from the list. It also lacks Magnesium - mainly because its very expensive, so Tums avoids it entirely - but it plays a dirty trick in it advertising regarding this point. During the commercial either actor or the voice over will say something to the effect of: "Tums has Calcium, something the body needs." (in a accusatory tone they continue): "The other brands contain Magnesium" They say it as if this is a bad thing, when in fact the manufacturer of Tums is too cheap to put in a necessary mineral.

As we said earlier, acid is necessary to break down Calcium, but what is the main function of Tums? Its a bleedin' antacid! It neutralize the pH in the stomach, so there's no Calcium getting out of that Tums tablet you just took! Waste of money is what it is! This is just one small part of the corporate greed that is crippling the health of this and other nations.

Next episode: Antacids - part II: The Vicious Circle