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| You've seen the Infomercials, heard it on the radio...Coral Calcium does everything from preventing osteoporosis and cancer to allowing you to live to be 120 years old like the Okinawans.
Robert Barefoot tells us that minerals from the sea, specifically from the coral reefs of Okinawa,
comprise the perfect combination and form for absorption by the body.
Not only is Coral Calcium the most easily absorbed form of calcium, it decreases the acidity
of the body and provides many trace minerals.
He points to the longevity of the people of Okinawa, and suggests that the reason they live
longer is because they use coral calcium as a food spice.
Is it a miracle, or is it too good to be true?
Coral Calcium is mined in Okinawa in one of two ways. It is either collected from fossilized coral on beaches away from the underwater coral ecosystem or it is pumped from sands under the water where coral lives. Herein lies the controversy: Which is better, the underwater marine coral or the fossilized coral on the beach?
Purity and Mineral Content
One faction says the fossilized coral is better because it is only coral, whereas coral dredged from the bottom of the ocean is impossible to separate from sand. The other faction says that coral pumped from the sea has both microbes and minerals, specifically magnesium, not found in fossilized coral calcium. This stance is taken by Robert Barefoot, a leading spokesperson for coral calcium. He goes on to say that the measure of quality for coral calcium is in the magnesium content:
"The ratio of calcium to magnesium in ‘marine coral' approaches 2 to 1, which is the ideal ratio of these minerals for nutritional support of the body structure and function. In contrast, ‘fossilized coral' collected on the beaches is somewhat deficient in magnesium and other trace nutrients. Some dietary supplement companies add magnesium to achieve the desired 2 to 1 balance of calcium and magnesium. In simple terms, the coral that contains the most nutrients, the least damaged in processing, and most resembles the living reef, is ‘marine coral,' and this coral is to be preferred with the caveat that, ‘all coral is good, but some is much superior to others,' at least in the vital micronutrient components."
Dean Neuls of Vancouver, B.C., a spokesperson for Robert's Coral Calcium (supposedly the original company endorsed by Robert Barefoot), points out that it is very coincidental that a particular company's coral calcium happens to contain the exact magnesium content that the U.S. nutrition industry deems optimum. (Note: Many people believe that amount of magnesium in the the calcium/magnesium ratio of 2:1 should be much higher.) He goes further to say that laboratory assays are performed on finished products and not on the raw coral. He says that some companies add magnesium to the coral to reach this "optimum" level. "A simple test can be revealing. Pure coral does not float, but when magnesium is added, this white fluffy powder sits on top of water and cannot be mixed in. Coral products with added magnesium are easy to identify."
He further points out that because sand is mined along with marine coral, the calcium content of the coral debris is lower than it is in fossilized coral: 20 - 24% in most marine products compared to 37% in fossilized coral. On the other hand, Barefoot points out that marine coral calcium is calcium oxide, which is more easily absorbed than the calcium carbonate found in fossilized calcium. (When calcium oxide, or quicklime, is exposed to the atmosphere it combines with carbon dioxide to form the calcium carbonate found in fossilized coral.)
As for micro-organisms in underwater calcium, Neuls says:
"A popular television infomercial has promoted the concept that only below-sea coral contains a special microbe that jumps out of the coral and begins pulling minerals across the intestinal wall. Medical doctors scoff at such a concept. No evidence these microbes exist is offered (identifying names, microscopic picture, studies cited) but if they did exist it is unlikely that they could survive the 1000 degree heat treatment that is used to vaporize the heavy metals in below-sea coral."
Ecological Impact
Mining of coral calcium is regulated by the Japanese government so that its natural ecosystem is not damaged. Lets face it, any altering of the environment is going to have an effect. Barefoot claims the process of mining marine coral pulls debris away from the coral reefs. Since the reefs grow horizontally, this gives the reef more room to grow, which Barefoot compares to "pruning roses."
Neuls says that the dredging process is not clean. "The dredging process generates a thick layer of silt which smothers the reef, killing the coral larvae that grow future reefs in the areas surrounding the existing reefs...[whereas]... Harvesting fossilized above-sea coral occurs by clearing the top soil off of ancient coral heads and trucking them off to a grinding facility with minimal environmental impact." He emphasizes the point with a photo of an underwater dredging operation in which a ship is surrounded by silt for hundreds of yards.
And if That is Not Enough
Here is what Dr. Takuo Fujita, M.D. founder of Japan's Calcium Research Institute, past president of Japan's Osteoporosis Foundation and author of over 400 scientific papers on calcium, has to say about coral calcium:
"Calcium, generically speaking, is an essential mineral with abundant health benefits. However, the calcium from coral acts no differently than calcium from any other source. The key to obtaining the health benefits of calcium is to make that calcium highly available to the body. Therefore, a calcium with better availability will have a greater health benefit.
"Unfortunately, coral calcium, chemically defined as calcium carbonate, has been shown in scientific studies - including those on humans - to be no more available to the body than other forms of calcium. As such, the infomercial claims about calcium from coral being a "superior" calcium are simply not true.
"Other infomercial claims need to be corrected. Any calcium will reduce the acidity or increase the alkalinity in the body, not just coral calcium. Also, the mineral concentrations found in coral calcium have not been clinically proven to offer any greater health benefit than calcium alone. Additionally, coral calcium alone is unlikely to be the reason for unusually low cancer rates of Okinawan inhabitants. Okinawan diets, rich in fish and vegetables, may be considerably healthier than those of my fellow Japanese Citizens, as well as Americans. Moreover, Okinawans enjoy less stress and pollution."
So where does that leave consumers? As usual, looking out for themselves. However, it is clear that coral calcium has health benefits. Not only does it contain calcium, but it also contains trace minerals that too many of us neglect. Is it the miracle product we always hope for? Time will tell. But I wonder if any product can live up to the level of hype that coral calcium has received.
(c) 2002 Chip Engelmann
Additional Reading:
Barefoot, Robert
Barefoot on Coral Calcium
An Elixer of Life?
Health Secrets of Coral of Okinawa
www.wellnesspublishing.com
Nuels, Dean
Coral Calcium Alert!
Coral Calcium Information
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