I agree with Brian's recommendation, 100 percent. Calcification (and any associated inflammation) should be one of the biggest concerns as people age. I don't like the idea of supplementing with something as strong as EDTA, as discussed in the book "The Calcium Bomb," but am wholehearted in recommending Vitamin K2 (especially Menaquinone-7) and grapefruit, citrus, or apple pectin. Both have the ability to act as mild chelating agents, and can especially remove calcium from the arteries. Vitamin K2 also has the added bonus of being a preventative against bone loss and Alzheimer's. Pectins also have the ability to lower bad cholesterol the right way.
Here are a few excerpts from a recent June 2007 article on the subject by Dr. James Howenstine.
"Calcification in cellular tissues is a sign of tissue damage, cellular aging and impending cell death. When cells are unable to regulate calcium and keep the calcium content of cells down cellular function degenerates. Calcified arteries, calcium in soft tissues and high levels of calcium within cells are all signs of aging. At age 80 the average calcium content in the aorta is 140 times greater[2] than the levels of aortic calcification noted at age 40. This may relate to a long period of unrecognized Vitamin K2 deficiency."
"A clinical study from Rotterdam, Holland revealed a correlation between long term adequate Vitamin K2 intake and a lower incidence of calcification of the wall of the aorta. Arteries with no plaques have a 20 to 50 fold increase in Vitamin K2 concentration when compared to arteries with arterial plaques. The high K2(menaquinone-7) content arteries were noted to be more flexible[7] and elastic than arteries lacking K2."
"Lack of Vitamin K2 causes calcium to fail to be deposited in bones where it belongs and to be deposited instead in arteries, aorta, soft tissues including muscle, breast, kidneys and in heel spurs."
A protein called osteocalcin transports calcium to bone. Vitamin K2(menaquinone-7) is used to solidify this calcium into the bone matrix. When Vitamin K2 is lacking the calcium remains in the blood and ends up getting deposited in the walls of arteries and other sites which is very undesirable. Thus Vitamin K2 becomes a critical nutrient for both bone and arteries."
You can read the rest of the article here:
*http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james59.htm
Some more great general information from NattoPharma on the specific product MenaQ7 (Vitamin MK-7.)
*http://www.nattopharma.com/index.php?s=science_sub