Coral Calcium vs OsteoProCare

By Dr. Michael Ernest, Research Scientist

A lot of people have been asking about coral calcium recently. I would like to begin with an example: If I offered you a job and described the accompanying lifestyle that would require $100,000 per month in income, that would be a fantastic job, wouldn’t it? But if the job only paid $2,000 per month, then you would never be able to live the lifestyle that was portrayed. This is what coral calcium is, which is why I like to refer to it as “A Million Dollar Description of a Minimum Wage Product.”

Our bodies require certain minerals in macro or large amounts, such as calcium (RDI = 1,200mg/day) and magnesium (RDI = 600mg/day). These minerals also require certain ratios to be efficiently utilized by the body. For example, the ratio for calcium to magnesium is approximately 2 to 1. An analysis of one popular coral calcium product revealed that its calcium to magnesium ratio was approximately 6 to 1, with the amounts of both being in micro amounts.

There may be some potential benefits derived from taking coral calcium that could be attributed to the trace and ultra trace elements contained in the coral calcium. Most people are deficient in this area. But as for macro mineral support, there simply isn’t enough minerals or metabolically supportive ratios to provide for the body’s needs. This is why some coral calcium products have other ingredients added to the coral calcium.
OsteoProCare is a comprehensive combination of minerals in high enough amounts, in appropriate ratios, and with the synergistic support ingredients for optimum metabolic function and utilization. OsteoProCare provides a full complement of baseline nutritional support that only advocates of coral calcium claim, but cannot produce.

Coral calcium is not a significant health-supporting source for calcium because of its form (dry), amount, and relationship (ratios) with other minerals. It therefore is not able to effectively provide significant macro mineral health benefits for the body.
OsteoProCare is in a liquid form, and as you are well aware, there are distinct advantages to being in a liquid form. The calcium in OsteoProCare, as well as other minerals, is ionized and therefore more absorbable and bio available then dry forms of minerals. Dry forms require the body to liquefy and ionize the minerals before the body can use them, which involves chelating them. Many people who have health challenges have difficulty in effectively liquefying and ionizing dry minerals.

OsteoProCare has a full complement of synergistic ingredients that are required for calcium to be utilized by the body, which includes other macro, trace, and ultra trace minerals that are in biocompatible ratios, and vitamin D3, which enhances the amount of calcium that the body can absorb. The amount of vitamin D3 in the small intestines at specific receptor sites constitutes the limiting factor for absorption of calcium.
The source of calcium in OsteoProCare is calcium carbonate from limestone, a combination of ionized calcium and calcium orotate produced by the addition of orotic acid. Calcium carbonate is used because the high percent of calcium per molecular weight provides more calcium per serving than most other forms of calcium sources. The calcium carbonate is obtained from an FDA approved facility insuring its purity and highest quality possible.

As mentioned above, minerals that are in a dry form must first be liquefied, ionized and a carrier added to them (chelated) before they can be absorbed by the body. This is why dry forms have such a low percent of absorption and utilization. OsteoProCare contains mineral orotates, which are considered to be the most efficient carriers of minerals in the body and assist in transporting the minerals directly to internal structures within cells. This was demonstrated by the research conducted by Dr. Hans Neipher in the 1950’s.
Contrary to some misinformation about certain coral calcium, bacteria do not carry minerals directly into cells; rather, chelates are involved, such as orotates. Bacteria may be involved in some of the digestion or influx processes of calcium, such as activating voltage-gated sodium channels [Li WI, Berman FW, Okino T, Yokokawa et a l, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2001 June 19, 1998 (13):7599-604], however, bacteria do not normally enter and live in healthy functioning cells. Cells that bacteria enter into and live in are unhealthy and pathogenic cells. The inaccuracy of this information may make one wonder about the accuracy of other information that is also being presented.

Here is a side by side, serving per serving comparison of our liquid OsteoProCare and one popular coral calcium product performed in 2001:
(analysis on the ingredient coral calcium lot # B0574 performed by Holmes Laboratory, Inc.)

From the above comparison, it is plain to see that macro mineral support from calcium and appropriate mineral ratios cannot be effectively provided by coral calcium alone. Some products have tried to address this need by adding extra minerals and ingredients, but none have the full complement that OsteoProCare does.

When coral calcium first came out, it did not have any other ingredients added to it. Interestingly enough, it touted many of the same claims that are suggested now. This in itself may make one wonder if all of the implications that are being made about coral calcium are accurate. It’s important to note that OsteoProCare has had the same formulation since it was first produced and the results experienced have been consistent.
In summary, the only thing significant to calcium in regards to coral calcium is in the name, because the amount of calcium as well as its ratio with other minerals is not significant to provide much support for health or metabolic processes. OsteoProCare, on the other hand, has and always has had a full complement of the finest ingredients to nutritionally support the body’s mineral needs.