Super Natural Calcium will influence thousands of biological reactions. The most basic role of calcium is to enable collagen synthesis, along with help from vitamin C and zinc. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, and serves to literally stick all cells together. It is the connective tissue that joins cells together to form bones, which are 35% collagen, and to form organs, muscles, skin and more.

Bone tissue is made up of both collagen and a large, complex mineral crystal called hydroxyapatite. Calcium itself is such an abundant component of hydroxyapatite that it ends up as a primary structural component of bone at 39.9% of its structural mass. This means that calcium is doubly important to skeletal health because it is required for the synthesis of collagen and to serve as a structural member of the hydroxyapatite crystal.

Without enough calcium, hydroxyapatite will not be formed in sufficient quantity to maintain healthy bone. And without enough calcium, inadequate collagen will be formed, weakening bone structure further. In all, calcium directly influences 75% of one’s bone structure.

Muscles cannot contract without calcium (just as they cannot relax without magnesium.) You cannot walk, run or pump blood to your brain without calcium. The many roles of calcium drive our daily dietary requirements to 1,000 mg and beyond.

The biologically active form of calcium is ionized calcium, that is, atomic calcium lacking two electrons. Ionized calcium (Ca2+) is the primary electrical signaling element in cells because of its ability to reversibly bind with proteins. As such, it is the most common chemical messenger within a cell. A lack of Ca2+ can disturb multiple cellular functions from energy production, to sugar metabolism, and responses to hormonal messengers.

Food versus tablets:

Calcium compounds synthesized for commercial use such as calcium citrate, calcium citrate/malate, calcium aspartate, calcium orotate and other forms (apart from carbonate) found in supplements can be excellent sources of calcium. Indeed, some are, with absorption rates in the vicinity of 30%. At those levels, they favorably match milk and dairy products, which usually deliver around 32% of their calcium (The benefit of dairy foods is often lost, nevertheless. They bring with them an acidic metabolic load that can drain the body of calcium, reversing any benefit of calcium absorption from dairy foods.)

But those synthesized, tableted calcium supplements still do not match the best food sources. Broccoli, Bok Choy, and Kale, for example, have fractional calcium absorption of 51.3%, 52.7% and 58.8% respectively. We can expect similar bioavailability from the plant, Hydrilla verticillata, the material that is Super Natural Calcium.

Can one get too much?

Elevated blood calcium levels (hypercalcemia) through overconsumption of calcium (or rarely through chronically elevated urinary Ca excretion to the point of kidney calcification) manifests itself as constipation, lax muscle tone, copious urination, confusion, coma and ultimately, death. The condition has yet to develop through consumption of natural foods even in those populations whose indigenous diets daily deliver multiple grams of elemental calcium per day.

Hypercalcemia has been seen only in association with overuse of synthetic (NOT plant-based) calcium supplements. The potently alkalinizing effect from long term use of high doses of tableted supplements can raise the pH of the urine, setting the stage for calcium deposition in the kidneys. Resulting damage retards elimination of calcium through normal pathways, raising blood calcium levels.

Although hypercalcemia is rare, it does present an argument in favor of calcium supplementation through natural plant foods. Vibrant Health offers Super Natural Calcium as the best solution for a truly food form, plant based, and safe calcium supplement.

Who can use Super Natural Calcium?

Super Natural Calcium can restore calcium nutrition in a form human biochemistry recognizes and utilizes. The mineral is needed by all humans, at all times, at all age levels. However, calcium supplementation becomes a focus for women after age 30 and for men after age 40, the demarcation points where population studies tell us we slip into negative calcium balance (i.e. the loss of more calcium through the urine than is absorbed by the GI tract.). We expect, therefore, that adults will be especially interested in Super Natural Calcium.

Benefits:

Rich source of highly bioavailable, natural, whole food, plant source calcium.

Super Natural Calcium FAQs:

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Q: Is it ok to take the Phyto-Boron and Super Natural Calcium together to help osteoporosis?

A: Yes, absolutely. Taking them together is fine, although the boron can be taken whenever it is convenient.

Q: Why are Maximized Curcuminoids and Super Natural Calcium in tablet form rather than capsules? What about the use of dicalcium phosphate and magnesium stearate as excipients? 

A: The raw materials in Maximized Curcuminoids (turmeric root extract) and Green Calcium (hydrilla verticillata) have low bulk densities. Encapsulation would result in the need for multiple large capsules in order to provide a meaningful dose. For example, 1000-mg dose of curcuminoids would require two “00” or three “0” capsules, both of which are pretty hefty capsules about 20 mm in length. Vibrant Health’s tablets are all made using a minimum amount of excipients derived exclusively from purely vegetable sources. The Green Calcium tablet is quite a technological achievement, using just 6 mg of vegetable-sourced magnesium castrate as the only excipient other than a plant-derived cellulose coating.

Q: I am concerned that absorbing high amounts of calcium may cause constipation. 

A: Absorbed calcium plays far less a role in constipation than calcium compounds in transit through the bowels do, and since calcium is required for muscle contraction, absorbed calcium actually normalizes peristaltic action (the waves of muscle contractions that move things through the bowel) thus helping to ensure efficient transit of contents through the intestinal tract. Calcium from a food such as the hydrilla verticillata in Green Calcium is the least constipating of all forms of calcium.
Normal bowel function can be expected from a diet short on grains and refined carbohydrates, but containing plenty of fiber from fruits and vegetables and an adequate supply of probiotics, magnesium and Vitamin C

Q: How much vitamin D should be taken with Super Natural Calcium?

A: A good daily intake of Vitamin D is now considered to be 2,000 i.u. Some researchers are advising daily intake of 5,000 i.u., similar to the recommended daily Vitamin A dosage, for optimal health.
D3 is the ideal form of Vitamin D to take as a supplement. The human body has control mechanisms in place that regulate conversion of D3 to its hormonal form, whereas D2 is foreign to the body, lacks controls, and can actually be too aggressive, causing deposition of calcium into soft tissues such as the arteries and muscles, a side effect not shared with D3.

Q: What is the suggested daily intake of Super Natural Calcium (hydrilla verticillata) for teenagers, adults and pregnant women?

A: Teenagers’ metabolism is at its lifetime peak, building most tissues at a fearsome rate. Calcium is needed at high levels. Depending on the quality of the diet, 1,000 to 2,000 mg of calcium should support growth well. However, soft drink consumption (especially those containing phosphoric acid), processed foods, snack items and other less-than-wholesome foods that often invade a youth’s diet, can compromise the dietary calcium contribution and utilization.
Dietary habits play such an important role in calcium bioavailability and utilization that it is impossible to accurately predict what intake of calcium will work best for any given person without knowing their customary eating habits and lifestyle choices. Nevertheless, most experts claim that 1,000 to 1,200 mg calcium is adequate for adults, and 1,500 to 2,000 mg for pregnant and lactating women. For the latter, Green Calcium (hydrilla verticillata) is certainly safe for use during pregnancy. We recommend using it in combination with Phyto-Boron and Green Vibrance.