It is the active ingredient used in antacid pills to relieve stomach pain caused by acid indigestion. Calcium, in the form of limestone, will neutralize acid rain. Within the body, it is used to maintain the correct acid balance of the blood. Our blood can function only at a specific pH level. If the blood acid level moves up or down, the body goes into an alarmed state.
Hydrochloric acid is needed to digest ham, cheese, meats, eggs and processed foods.
Calcium is secreted to alkalize this acidic digestive mixture when it enters the bloodstream. Afterward, it is excreted with other metabolic wastes. On the way out, calcium compounds can lodge in the kidneys causing kidney stones, or in the gall bladder producing gallstones. Another way that a high-protein diet depletes calcium is through excess protein turning into urea in the liver. Urea creates a diuretic action in the kidney, leaching minerals which include calcium through the urine.