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