Question:
Is Coral Calcium Better than Calcium Citrate?
The guy at GNC, and several articles i've read, all are telling to me to with Coral Calcium. Do you guys know much about this? Is it a better option? Supposedly its absorbed the best of all. — Julie I. (posted on March 19, 2003)
March 19, 2003
I was <b>very</b> surprised to find in my research that coral
calcium is nothing more than calcium carbonate!! Below are just a few
random webpages I grabbed off of Google that explain their findings about
coral calcium. Beware to the buyer, many coral calcium labels are
misleading and don't mention which type of calcium it is. Take a look...
<p>
<b>http://www.health-pages.com/cs/</b><br>
<i>"Chemically, coral calcium is simply calcium carbonate - a
poorly absorbed form of calcium. The best form of calcium, in terms of
bioavailability, is calcium citrate, a chelated and highly absorbable form
of calcium.."</i>
<b>http://www.sacbee.com/content/women/columns/pharmacist/story/6146620p-7102021c.html</b><br>
<i>"The label on the product confuses people and fails to
mention that Coral Calcium is composed primarily of calcium
carbonate."</i>
<b>http://www.oralchelation.com/faq/answers59.htm</b><br>
<i>"Coral Calcium is nothing more than the cheap calcium
carbonate!"</i>
— thumpiez
March 19, 2003
Good question. We just had a nutritionist come to our support meeting on
Monday night and this question was asked. He explained that the other
calciums (carbonate, oyster shell, Coral, etc) are great for balancing your
PH but do nothing for bone health. Which is what is very important to us
post-ops. Calcium citrate is the one product that supports bone health. If
we do not get enough of the calcium citrate we will develop osteoprosis at
a very early age. So he said to stick with the Calcium Citrate and forget
the rage about the Coral Calcium, its not what we need.
— missysworld
March 19, 2003
i have read other things that say coral calcuim is better absorbed but this
was for a "normal" person. Not wls people. We have to have
calcuim citrate. Remember when you are talking to sales people and etc,
they give you numbers for the normal population. Most don 't know anything
about us.
— Delores S.
March 20, 2003
I had done a web search too...only wish I could remember the site I ended
up at! Anyway, this was not a site that sold any product but was doing
some sort of "research" (I use that term lightly) and the one
thing that they said that I did find interesting was that coral calcium is
already in an ionic form so therefore is 95%+ absorbed by your body. Now
what your body then does with it might be a totally different story. I had
bought some caps and when opened and placed in water the contents seemed to
dissolve instantly, of course the only thing I can compare it to is the
Citrucal - Cal, Mag, D, Boron, B6, Zinc, Copper, Magnese pills I have that
take over an hour to dissolve! I was also suprised to hear not only my
surgeon, but my nutritionist and primary (internal medicine) say that any
form of calcium would be okay as long as you take it regularly. I don't
want to take any chances with my health so as soon as I can swallow my
pills I will go back to citrate again.
— eaamc
March 20, 2003
Julie, I too have been doing my research on calcium and recently purchased
a liquid calcium magnesium citrate. However after researching I hav found
that Coral Calcium is not the best nor recommended for those having wls.
This is a quote from a book by Barbara Thompson, her book is entitled
"Weight Loss Surgery, Finding The Thin Persn Hiding Inside You"
"The best forms of calcium to take are calcium citrate and calcium
microcrystalline hydroxyapatite concentrate (MCHC). These forms are
optimally absored on an empty stomach and do not require gastic acid.....do
not take calcium that contains bone meal, dolomite, oyster shells because
hey may contain lead and other toxic substances"
You may want to check with your surgeon's, doctor's office or your
nutritionists office as well.
Hope this helps.
— Heather S.
March 20, 2003
Let's just say that it is not in OUR best interest to use coral calcium ~
go for what you know. Coral calcium, in my opinion, is another gimmick
where folks can try to swindle more money out of unsuspecting individuals
who the manufacturerers think won't do the research for themselves. Be
careful! There are enough members on this site that are knowledgeable and
perhaps have tired some of them all. Of course, the final decision is
yours, but I've found that TV commericals, etc all advertized a variety of
things for US which helped put us in the conditions we are/were in becoming
obese and spending money and not getting the proper results.
— yourdivaness
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