Certified Naturals - Plant-Source Calcium Magnesium Plus K2

Product Notes:

Aquamin: "The Perfect Calcium"
- Recommended by W. Gifford-Jones, MD

Bone Health

If the loss of bone mineral density and the accompanying risk of bone fractures (including hip fractures) is a concern for you (about 1 in 8 men over the age of 50 are subject to this, and twice as many women), you're well advised to take a calcium supplement – especially one bolstered with co-factors like boron, magnesium, and vitamin D3 and K2, which not only aid its metabolism and absorption, but also help direct it to the bones rather than let it collect in the arteries.

But not all types work equally well at preventing osteoporosis, since they don't all get absorbed well (which can lead to adverse effects such as gas and constipation); some are more prone to calcifying the arteries (which can become a risk factor for cardiovascular events); and some are not as good at helping suppress the body's parathyroid hormones which are at odds with this process (they pull calcium away from the bones). And the actual calcium in most calcium and cal-mag supplements come from the same source: it's mined from limestone, a sedimentary rock, which gets purified to contain only calcite.

Aquamin Calcium

These two formulas from Certified Naturals are quite different. Their key ingredient is Aquamin: a plant-sourced multi-mineral complex extracted from, in essence: seaweed. Specifically, a form of red marine algae called Lithothamnion calcareum (Pallas) (but also known as Phymatolithon calcareum (Pallas)) which is known to thrive in the cold, clean Atlantic waters in at least two places: off the southwest coast of Ireland, and the northwest coast of Iceland (where this is drawn from).

As it grows, this plant absorbs minerals from the seawater and collects them in honeycombed structures in its fronds until they harden, and they look like coral reefs. These mineralized fronds eventually break off and fall to the ocean floor on their own, where they can be sustainably harvested, isolated from surrounding materials, sterilized, dried, and milled.

The resulting mineral extract contains not only calcium and magnesium, but also measurable amounts of 72 other trace minerals. The virtue of this, in the view of Dr. Gifford-Jones and other advocates of a "whole food" approach, is that the inclusion of these other nutrients that are naturally present in the original food facilitates the absorption of all these nutrients at once, including the most wanted ones, since when they appear together like this our bodies recognize them as a food to be metabolized and used gradually rather than as an excess to be quickly excreted or diverted elsewhere (such as the blood).

Nor is it just a theoretical benefit. Studies have shown that Aquamin combined with vitamin D increased the production activity of osteoblasts (the cells that form new bone), and that Aquamin is better at lowering PTH (parathyroid hormone) levels than other forms of calcium. (Elevated PTH levels can draw calcium away from the bones and into the bloodstream; in women, it can be kept in check by estrogen when they are younger, which is why their risk of osteoporosis increases after menopause.)

Cal-Mag Aquamin also has anti-inflammatory properties which have been shown to have other potential benefits, as well: in relieving joint pain and stiffness (better than glucosamine sulfate!), and in improving digestive health by reducing gastrointestinal inflammation brought on by a high fat diet.

In Winnipeg? The price of the liquid bottles may vary in-store.