I spoke to a vegan friend of mine the other day and the topic of nutrition came up. As a vegan, my friend has to pay a little more attention to the foods she eats to make sure she gets all the nutrients her body needs. One concern that often comes up is the amount of calcium in her diet. As a woman she is of course worried about Osteoporosis and wants to make sure she gets enough calcium without eating any of the foods normally associated with calcium including milk, yogurt and cheese.

With a little research we found out that calcium can be found in quite a wide variety of foods including the following:

• Tofu
• Green leafy veggies like kale
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole wheat flour
• Dried Figs
• Molasses

Since her diet includes quite a few of these items on a regular basis already, she is getting plenty of calcium to keep her bones strong and healthy.

Getting enough calcium in your daily diet is only part of the story. In order for your body to properly absorb this mineral, it needs Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. We can either get Vitamin D through the foods we eat, or it can be made by our bodies provided we are exposed to sunlight. The ultraviolet rays (UV) from the sun are what helps the body make Vitamin D.

Getting plenty of Vitamin D and Calcium is what makes and keeps your bones strong.  Vitamin D can be found in fatty fish (cod, salmon, tuna and mackerel) and has also been added to milk.

Drink your milk and get out in the sun and you should provide your body with all the vitamin D it needs.

You’ve heard all the talk about osteoporosis and how important it is for both your bones and your teeth to get enough calcium in your diet. You may be wondering if you are getting enough of this essential element through the foods you eat, or if you need to take a calcium supplement. Read more about the importance of calcium.

Your body needs about 1,000 mg of calcium per day. This may sound like a lot, but considering that an 8 oz cup of plain , nonfat yogurt gives you almost half of the calcium needed. Other great sources of calcium are any dairy products including milk and cheese, soy milk, tofu, broccoli and fortified cereals and beans.

If you can’t or won’t eat dairy products, getting enough calcium through the foods you eat gets a little more challenging, but can still be done. Focus on getting enough calcium rich non-dairy foods in your diet.

Just about anyone who eats a balanced, healthy diet should be getting enough calcium through the foods they eat. If you are concerned, meet with a dietitian, or talk to your doctor about your diet. He or she can make recommendations on whether or not you  should be taking a calcium supplement.

One way to do this is to chew a tums or viactive once a day.

You know you can buy coral calcium at your local health food store as a supplement provided in pill form, but what exactly is and and where does it come from? Let’s take a look.

Coral Calcium is a type of salt, salt of calcium to be exact, that comes from fossilized coral reefs. Since all living coral reefs are protected, the coral calcium you buy in supplement form is derived from ground up limestone. This above ground limestone was created by coral reefs thousands of years ago.

The question is, does this “special” type of calcium carbonate  give you any more health benefits than let’s say a Tums(TM). Current science doesn’t seem to support some of the claims that have been made by coral calcium distributors including the claims that it can cure cancer by changing the body’s ph levels. While it is true that cancer cells can be destroyed by a highly alkaline ph environment, that same environment would unfortunately also destroy healthy body cells.

Overall it seems that a healthy diet, which incorporates a variety of foods, including those that will provide our bodies with plenty of calcium, which we do need for healthy bones, is a much better strategy for staying healthy then taking pills of ground-up limestone.

Here is some basic information about what coral calcium is supposed to do for your body. Over the next few weeks we will take a closer look at this mineral and discuss if any of these claims can be proven and if medical or health benefits can be shown.

• Resist diseases by raising body pH
• Stop bone loss by providing building blocks
• Increase your energy by raising oxygen levels in the blood
• Maximize your health by providing your cells with all the minerals they need in balance
• Avoid constipation caused by many Calcium supplements

Full Spectrum Source of Minerals

Coral Calcium contains every mineral, in similar proportion, found in the human body. This is vitally important because some trace minerals are entirely missing from our food and supplements, yet these minerals occur in the human body for a reason. The human body functions synergistically: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Every mineral has a crucial role to play in the human anatomy.

For every mineral there are several other minerals that must be present in the proper amount and in turn, those minerals must have other minerals present, or the mineral will not do the job required by the human body. Supplementing the diet with Coral Calcium may help keep all mineral levels up and each and every mineral in balance.

The primary objective of mineral intake should be to obtain the proper mineral balance. Coral exists in a natural balance

Coral Calcium is specially formulated for optimal assimilation because minerals, especially calcium, can be very difficult to get into the blood stream. No matter how much calcium or minerals we take, they won’t do any good if they don’t get into the blood.

Coral minerals are naturally ionized (nature’s smallest form, 1000 times smaller than colloidal) allowing for almost total bioavailability. Coral Calcium includes a blend of minerals, vitamin D (which must be present for absorption to occur), hydrochloric acid (HCL or stomach acid) for enhanced assimilation and malic acid (from apples) to prevent calcium from clumping, which can cause gas and constipation.

Coral reefs are endangered and disappearing fast. Coral Calcium protects reefs by only using fossilized coral from above sea level. Some companies harvest the live reef, others collect dead coral by dredging under and around the reef. Scientists warn that any tampering with the reef is damaging.

Another major difference between coral supplement is bio-availability. Coral Calcium includes a blend of minerals and absorption enhancers and uses a fine powdered coral (2 micron, the consistency of flour). All this allows approximately 84% of the calcium in Coral Calcium to be ionized and available for absorption into the blood stream. By comparison, a typical coral teabag product contains 1000 mg. of coral of which 380 mg. is calcium. Only 150 mg. (39%) of this calcium ionizes into the water and may be absorbed if the necessary magnesium and vitamin D are present. The bio-availability of Coral Calcium greatly surpasses all other coral supplements.