THE CALCIUM CONNECTION

Calcium is the mineral in your body that makes up your bones and keeps them strong. Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth. The remaining 1% is in your blood and soft tissues and is essential for life and health. Without this tiny 1% of calcium, your muscles wouldn’t contract correctly, your blood wouldn’t clot and your nerves wouldn’t carry messages.

It is mainly the calcium in your diet that spares, or protects, the calcium in your bones. In addition to their structural role, your bones are your emergency supply of calcium. Your body actually tears down and builds bone all of the time in order to make its calcium available for your body’s functions. If you don’t get enough calcium from the food you eat, your body automatically takes the calcium you need from your bones. If your body continues to tear down more bone than it replaces over a period of years to get calcium, your bones become weak and break easily. This leads to the crippling bone disease called osteoporosis. Approximately 25 million American women have some degree of osteoporosis; the disease will affect one-third to one-half of post-menopausal women, and 5 million American men suffer from osteoporosis.

If you aren’t getting enough calcium from your diet (and most of us don’t), you need to take a calcium supplement such as Coral Calcium Plus™ every day. Here are some tips to help you remember.

• Take Coral Calcium Plus™ with meals.  Calcium is frequently most effective with meals, and studies have shown that it may be better absorbed with food.

• Take Coral Calcium Plus™ in divided doses throughout the day. The body can absorb only so much calcium at one time, so try taking it with two or three of your meals each day.

• Try keeping Coral Calcium Plus™ in several places (bathroom, kitchen, purse) so if you do forget, you can take it easily.

It’s very difficult to get too much calcium. Any excess which the body cannot use is excreted from the body in the urine and stool. Daily consumption up to 2,500 mg has been shown to be completely safe.

If you experience constipation or gas from calcium, your body may be adjusting to the new levels of calcium. If this happens, try starting with a small amount and build gradually to an adequate daily amount. And remember, take your calcium in several doses during the day, for instance at meal times.

Now, what about kidney stones?  For years, the common perception was that calcium supplementation increased the risk of kidney stones.  However, contrary to conventional wisdom, a higher intake of calcium prevents kidney stones according to a study published in the April 26, 2004 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.  Despite studies suggesting calcium’s benefits, physicians have routinely recommended low-calcium diets for people with kidney stones based on intuitive thinking that since the stones are mostly calcium, less dietary calcium would reduce the chance of kidney deposits.  However, the latest study found a highly significant – 27 percent – reduction in stones in women consuming the most calcium from food and dietary supplements.

So do your body a favor and treat it to Coral Calcium Plus™ every day – your bones will thank you!