Why Trace Minerals Are Crucial For Bone Health

Updated: November 7, 2022

Lara Pizzorno is the author of “Your Bones: How You Can Prevent Osteoporosis and Have Strong Bones for Life – Naturally” and a member of the American Medical Writers Association with 29 years of experience specializing in bone health.

Recently we asked Lara if she would help us provide a series of short, ongoing videos to help you (our customers and readers) stay up to date on the latest facts and science related to bone health.

In this latest video, Lara talks about the other vitamins and minerals that are crucial to bone health. Watch the video below (or read the transcript provided) and let us know what you think in the comments.

Hello, I’m Lara Pizzorno the author of “Your Bones” and I’m here today to share some information with you that I hope will help you have healthier bones.

In the last couple of videos we’ve discussed three research studies in which AlgaeCal was shown to significantly outperform any other form of supplemental calcium. Calcium carbonate or calcium citrate or even these forms of calcium when given with vitamin D. Why is this? What’s so different about AlgaeCal?

Well, it’s a plant source of pre-digested by the marine algae, Lithothamnion superpositum (or Algas Calcareas as the locals call it) which is what it’s named for calcium and it contains, not just calcium. The mineral matrix supplied by AlgaeCal is only 28-38% calcium and that calcium is derived from 4 different types of bioavailable calcium. Calcium hydroxide, calcium chloride, calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate. So AlgaeCal is not just calcium carbonate. AlgaeCal also contains naturally 2-4% magnesium plus other pre-digested trace minerals and the pH of this calcium rich minerals in this AlgaeCal is approximately 9.5. In other words, it’s alkaline, so anything greater than 7 is alkaline. And we’ll talk about the importance for your bones of maintaining an alkaline balance in your body in another video. It’s extremely important that you are not in an acidic state. So, bottom line here, AlgaeCal contains a lot more than just calcium, it provides all the trace minerals utilized by the sea algae to build its bony structure.

And these are trace minerals that we humans also require for optimal bone building and we’re not getting them anymore from the Standard American Western Diet.

In “Your Bones” in the section on diet, I discuss the studies showing on the phosphate fertilizers that we now use to produce conventionally grown foods have resulted in our plant foods have much lower levels of many minerals. So even if we are eating a healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, we may not be getting the amounts of minerals that our bones actually require to be healthy. Also, in the second edition of “Your Bones” I added a section in which I discuss a number of trace minerals and the research showing the very important roles that each of them plays in building bone.

AlgaeCal supplies these trace minerals in perfect natural proportions in which they were combined to help form the bony structure of the marine algae, Lithothamnion superpositum (or Algas Calcareas as the locals call it).

Then, AlgaeCal Plus adds to this mix of trace minerals, the vitamins that we know are essential for healthy bones. Vitamin D, vitamin K-7 in the version of vitamin K2 – I will discuss these nutrients later in separate videos. And vitamin C. Plus AlgaeCal adds additional magnesium and boron to ensure that these key minerals are present in optimal amounts. To sum it up, is a plant sourced calcium that supplies our bones with so much more than calcium or even calcium or vitamin D.

So the next time someone tells you that AlgaeCal is just an expensive kind of calcium carbonate, suggest they read the studies, all of which are free access or listen to this video. All the references for the studies are provided along with it. Thanks for tuning in.


Sources:

Your Bones: How You Can Prevent Osteoporosis & Have Strong Bones for Life Naturally

Comparative effects of a novel plant-based calcium supplement with two common calcium salts on proliferation and mineralization in human osteoblast cells

Changes in Total Body Bone Mineral Density Following a Common Bone Health Plan With Two Versions of a Bone Health Supplement: Comparative Effectiveness Research Study

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This article features advice from our industry experts to give you the best possible info through cutting-edge research.

Lara Pizzorno
MDiv, MA, LMT - Best-selling author of Healthy Bones Healthy You! and Your Bones; Editor of Longevity Medicine Review, and Senior Medical Editor for Integrative Medicine Advisors.,
Dr. Liz Lipski
PhD, CNS, FACN, IFMP, BCHN, LDN - Professor and Director of Academic Development, Nutrition programs in Clinical Nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health.,
Dr. Loren Fishman
MD, B.Phil.,(oxon.) - Medical Director of Manhattan Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Founder of the Yoga Injury Prevention Website.,
Prof. Didier Hans
PHD, MBA - Head of Research & Development Center of Bone Diseases, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Switzerland,