Get Free Quote
Coral Calcium
View labels  
View wholesale pricing.
SEE WHY WE USE ABOVE-SEA CORAL CALCIUM:
Fossilized, above-sea coral is pure and hence has a higher calcium
content (37% compared to 20 - 24% for most marine products). Thousands
of years ago this coral was a thriving coral reef. Geologically,
fossilized coral was pushed up above sea level, free from the ocean
pollution of the industrial era. Only the pristine white coral heads
are harvested. This harvesting process involves removal of the protective
layer of soil that accumulated over the eons, collecting the ancient
coral and trucking it away for grinding. You will note that marine
coral promoters are unwilling to post a certificate of analysis
on their sites as we do.
CORAL
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS COMPARISON
There
is a confusing array of Coral Calcium Products on the market
with widely ranging prices. Naturally every company tries to
position their brand as the premium form of Coral. Claims include "most
absorbable Coral on the market" "clinical grade Coral"
"Fossilized Coral", "Marine Coral", "Sango
Coral", "Ionized Coral", "Robert Barefoot's
formula" and so on. Some argue over who was first to bring
it to America and who has the "exclusive rights".
Let's
debunk some Coral myths and clarify terms:
Okinawan
Coral
All coral calcium products on the market are from the Japanese prefecture
of Okinawa.
Sango
Coral
What
about Sango - some say Sango is the best. Actually Sango is simply
a local Okinawan reference to Coral in general - so all Okinawan
Coral is Sango.
Ionized
Coral
All Okinawan Coral is ionized too - that just means it takes on
a charge (a positive one to be specific) so don't be fooled by
companies claiming to have a superior product because it is "Ionized" Coral
Calcium. The important thing is that this ionization makes it far
more useable for humans compared to regular calcium supplements.
Clinical
Grade
Some claim to have "clinical grade" but no explanation
is offered as to how this is different from any other. Coral is
a whole food source of calcium and minerals and there is no standard
grading system including "clinical grade". Something
that does matter more is particle size. It comes in a range of
sizes from 2 microns (like flour) up to 44 microns. The smaller,
the better for absorption. Physician Formulated The Coral formulas
on the market are very simple formulations based on Dr Carl Reich's
work from 1950 through 1992 where he combined Calcium and Vitamin
D to work miracles in patients. A physician's involvement is arguably
overkill.
Robert
Barefoot Formula
Several
companies, each with a different formula, either have Bob Barefoot's
name on their formula or advertise that they represent him in one
way or another. Robert Barefoot has licensed his name to a company
which has developed several brands and markets through several distributors.
Confusing matters further, Mr. Barefoot has represented most of
the Coral companies at one time or another as his mission is to
help America heal itself and he tends to hop from company to company.
If you see his name on a bottle of coral, one thing is certain -
Bob Barefoot is not producing it as he has parted company with the
licensor of his name. Not that it really matters - plain ground
up coral in powder form works very well on it's own. Any formula
containing some Vitamin D and maybe a few other goodies is a bonus
with or without Barefoot's name on it.
Exclusive
Rights
If
any company owned the exclusive rights to Coral calcium there would
not be so many competing companies creating such confusion now
would there? Coral Calcium was first introduced to America about
6 years ago through a Multi-level Marketing company selling it
in tea bag form. Later the capsules became more popular as the
entire mineral content could be swallowed. Over time about 7 or
8 other MLM companies started marketing Coral products and one
or two regular distribution companies have recently joined in.
Fossilized
Coral versus Marine (Ocean) Coral
There
are two sources of Okinawan Coral. Fossilized Coral which is mined
above sea level and Marine Coral which is vacuumed from the ocean
bottom near the Coral reefs. Which is best, Fossilized or Marine
Coral?
Laboratory
analysis of the two kinds shows each variety has similar quantities
of each of the minerals. Fossilized tends to have a little higher
percentage of Calcium - about 30 to 38% while the Marine variety
has about 24% calcium. So when you read about a company having 500
mg of Coral calcium per capsule, you know that roughly 1/3 of that
is pure calcium - most of the better companies will point out the
exact percentage. All of it comes from Okinawan Coral and none has
toxic levels of heavy metals.
The
fossilized coral suppliers claim that theirs is in aragonite form
which is more soluble than the marine variety which is heat treated
and becomes a calcite form of crystal. This has been verified in
a Japanese laboratory. The Marine coral suppliers say theirs is
advantageous due to a natural 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium.
Our tests indicate that magnesium has likely been added to accomplish
this ratio - which is fine. Some of the fossilized brands have magnesium
added too, but the fossilized companies are up-front about it.
Whenever
a company promotes something as "naturally occurring"
and it has been added, it makes us wonder where else the truth is
being stretched on their product. A little foray to Okinawa unearthed
another matter of concern regarding "Marine" coral -
that is the purity of a product that involves vacuuming the ocean
floor. We obtained raw marine coral product samples which have
a fairly high sand content. This is not all bad as sand has some
minerals in it, but these impurities are likely the reason Marine
Coral has a lower calcium content than Fossilized coral.
We
know that Mr Barefoot is currently promoting "Marine Coral",
but one must remember his history of representing a number of coral
companies over the years and each brand he represents at the time
has "the best form". When he represented Fossilized Coral
it was the best - currently he is representing Marine Coral, but
we hear rumours that he may switch again soon to promoting fossilized
coral. It doesn't really matter. We recommend that you choose your
coral based on it's merits, not on who is promoting it.
Every
company has a list of amazing success stories with their brand
of Coral which we have no reason to doubt given the well documented
longevity of the Okinawan people who live on a giant fossilized
coral reef and ingest Coral minerals daily from their water!
Although we would take "Marine" Coral if it were the
only type available, we favor fossilized coral for reasons noted
above. Some people also favor the fossilized form on ethical
grounds - because the Marine vacuuming process can be damaging
to the Coral environment.
Magnesium Content
There
are several schools of thought on how much Magnesium should be
in calcium supplements. An article in the JAMA (Journal of the
American Medical Association) indicated there should be absolutely
no magnesium in calcium supplements. Other experts claim a 2:1
ratio of Calcium to Magnesium is ideal. The Okinawan race, noted
for their longevity due to the minerals they ingest from the giant
fossilized mineral reef they live on do not add magnesium at all.
What we know for sure is the medical community is undecided - and
that all pure coral products works extremely well with or without
a 2:1 ratio.
Coral
Microbes
Although
super qualities have been attributed to these microbes, we do not
believe they exist in commercially available coral, if at all. Marine
coral is heat treated and Fossilized coral is ozonated. Both processes
will kill any living microbe. The coral works, but not because of
microbes.
Conclusions
Lets
get one thing clear, our research shows that any real pure Coral
Calcium, is pretty much Coral Calcium in spite of the attempts
of each company to position theirs as unique.The only thing that
is quite different is the price companies are retailing the products
for.
|