Coral calcium powder is one of those things you hear about maybe in the latest magazine ad or even on a late night TV commercial and all the supposed health benefits it has. Naturally, as we continue our series of “What is it? Is it Safe?” in the latest nutritional and weight loss fads, this is one we had to take a look into and find out exactly what it is, how it works, and whether you should try it or save your money and spare any potential side effects or health risks.
Ironically, if you google “Coral Calcium Powder” there’s not a whole lot there to tell you about it. You’ve got a lot of people who claim to be nutrition experts, but it’s easy to tell that most of the sites are obviously there just to sell you something – and when someone is selling you something how can you really be 100% sure that they’re telling the truth or recommending something that can be in your best interest?
Supposedly, this nutrition supplement extracts calcium from coral reef off the coast of Japan. It is sold in capsule format as well as a powder form that can easily be mixed in with other foods and drinks. it has a lot of big claims of the wonders it can do, beyond just making you have healthier and stronger bones. You always have to be careful anytime something claims it can cure cancer or make you live longer.
We always try to look at these health and nutrition products objectively when we review them, though that isn’t always exactly easy when it you have something with so many claims and so little information available about it. So we decided to do some research.
When it comes researching “too good to be true” false advertising and fraudulent claims we’ve found that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) government website to be a huge help, so that’s the first place we searched. Sure enough, according to this article from 2003, it exposes the claims that coral calcium powder preys on consumer’s fears and gives false hopes for chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and naturally the cure for cancer. No supporting evidence could be found from the FDA or any medical journals with reliable research could be found.
An important thing to note however is that our bodies DO need calcium. According to the FDA guidelines, adults between age 19-50 should be getting 1000 mg per day, and adults over the age 51 should get 1200 mg. Calcium does help our bodies have strong bones, muscles, and teeth, as well as help your body on a whole function with cardiac and respiratory needs. However, getting 1000 mg a day of calcium is not nearly as difficult as one would think. For example, a 1 ounce slice of cheese has 200mg and a glass of calcium fortified orange juice usually has around 300mg. A glass of milk also has around 300 mg, which means if you’re following a healthy diet with vegetables and dairy servings as a part of your meals you probably don’t need any supplements. Only if you’re eating habits are absolutely terrible or if your doctor recommends it to you during a visit should you consider it. In fact, getting too much calcium can be a bad thing – I definitely know because I took too much and paid for it dearly with kidney stones that resulted from me wrongly assuming that I needed a calcium vitamin each day. (Ironically that was back in 2003, when the hype for calcium products was at it’s high – just goes to show you shouldn’t believe everything you see and hear!) Even vegans can easily get enough calcium by eating foods such as spinach, calcium fortified orange juice, tofu, and dried beans.
So, now you know all you need to know about coral calcium powder – and the bottom line is that you don’t need it. And if you ARE worried about calcium, most likely just a few simple changes such as getting 3 servings of dairy a day and drinking some orange juice with your breakfast each day is all that you need unless directed otherwise by a physician.