The Skinny on Coral Calcium

The Skinny on Coral Calcium

It is known that "calcium is indeed one of the most important minerals in the body --- it's certainly the most abundant --- and folks need to have enough to stay healthy. However, there is no sound evidence that the body absorbs and utilizes calcium from the sea any better than calcium from a pea," states Dr. Gary Evans.

Many carefully controlled studies have shown that the body loses about 200mg of calcium each day. Since approximately 32% of the calcium is absorbed from most sources, experts recommend 1000mg to 1200mg daily to satisfy your allowance. This finding makes it necessary for the average individual to search for the correct calcium supplement that suits their needs, which requires knowledge and research about the product and a comparison between brand names.

It is definitely something someone needs to do, but becomes confusing after being bombarded with volumes of diverse information.

There are a number of ways to make it easier for someone to choose a calcium supplement, whether it's calcium citrate, coral calcium, calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphate. A person can easily reduce their choices by using their instinct to weed out those fast-buck companies that make unusual claims about the product or products they are selling. For instance, one company claims that a deficiency in calcium can be linked to cancer and heart disease, along with a number of other diseases, and increased doses of calcium can aid in curing terminal cancer. Even though lower levels can be linked to a number of diseases, it doesn't attribute to the hundreds of diseases some companies claim in their print, television infomercials or web-site advertisements.

Since calcium citrate is the easiest form of calcium to be absorbed by the body, this should be the most logical to take. According to one company thought, their studies found their coral calcium is absorbed 100% into the body in 20 minutes, which still has not been substantiated by publication in a scientific journal. This is "impossible," according to Dr. Robert Heaney, MD Professor of Medicine with the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University and a member of the Food and Nutrition Board. "No calcium is absorbed 100%. Plus, absorption in 20 minutes would have to take place in the stomach, and calcium is actually absorbed in the small intestine." Steer clear of any products claiming a full effect of a product that does not have clinical studies to prove it.

A retired biochemistry and physiology professor, Dr. Gary Evans, informs us of concerns found in the book "The Calcium Factor" by Robert Barefoot and Carl J. Reich, M.D. Dr. Evans says, "Vitamin D starts a series of biochemical reactions that result in the production of protein that carries calcium from the intestines to the blood. Imagine my disbelief and shock when I started thumbing through the "The Calcium Factor" book and came upon a paragraph stating that Vitamin D is needed to trap calcium in the intestine and carry it inside. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, a few paragraphs later readers are encouraged to shed their clothes whenever the sun shines brightly. The authors' claim --- in deference to the trained dermatologists --- that we need far more sun than we are presently exposed to. We need the sun----according to the authors---so the body can make Vitamin D by photosynthesis." Misinformation like this is harmful to the nutrition industry, and potentially harmful to our health. If information is published, read it carefully and check out the facts by looking up study results by accredited medical organizations or professionals. Make sure you, the customer, receive the most for your money.

Certain coral calcium products only contain 200 mg of calcium, which added up, means taking six of these capsules to meet the daily value of 1000-1200mg. If the cost of 90 capsules of coral calcium is $31.95, that would mean it would cost $2.13 a day, compared with Calcium Citrate, a slightly higher dosage, meaning less capsules to take, for only $14.95, which per day would be 25 cents. Plus, do the coral calcium products have the more easily absorbed forms of minerals and vitamins a person needs?

Does the product you are interested in use harmful production methods or create adverse effects to its natural habitat? This should always be a consideration in buying any product, because it's necessary to keep the ecosystem in balance, without disruption from dredging of coral calcium on the sea bottom. The dredging process not only disturbs the creatures of the deep, but also creates an abnormal amount of the floor sand and particles to settle unnaturally on any surrounding coral reefs or habitats.

Make a decision to pick the best product with the most credibility. Also, let your conscience be your guide.