Calcium Orotate & Aspartate, What other ingredients?

[pamelaf]

I have read that calcium supplements should not only contain calcium, but also magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, boron, strontium, vitamin D, vitamin C and vitamin B-12 in order for the calcium to be effectively absorbed for bones.

In the calcium orotate product that you sell, it lists magnesium as another ingredient and then some lesser ones like pure food glaze, etc., but what about boron, vitamin D, and all the other ones I listed above? Shouldn't it contain those other ingredients, or are they indeed in the product but just not listed on your general info pages about your products? I imagine that the same thing is true with the calcium aspartate product, as well.

Also, I read on another web site, that another company's product which was said to be calcium orotate was actually calcium carbonate with acidic ions which turned the calcium carbonate into calcium orotate once it gets into your body system. That seems to be impossible, because calcium carbonate is an inorganic form while calcium orotate is an organic form, and one would think that an inorganic form wouldn't change into an organic form once it gets into a person's system. But in the event this is true, then how would we know if all products that say they're calcium orotate aren't possibly calcium carbonate in disguise?

I'm trying to get off of my present calcium carbonate supplements because of heel spurs, but would like to make a good choice of a different form of calcium. In my search for calcium orotate, whenever I find a product containing this on the Internet, it usually is lacking in most of those other ingredients necessary for bone growth.

Your advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Pamela

[ghchealth]

Pamela,

It sounds as if you have being doing your research regarding calcium supplementation. All of the nutrients that you list are important in the formation and maintenance of healthy bone tissue. The calcium orotate that we offer does contain magnesium along with the calcium as the two work synergistically. As for the others, they are not included in this particular formulation. There are a few of reasons for this: 1) calcium orotate is a large molecule and is often not combined with several other nutrients because of pill size and required number of capsules or tablets, 2) the 90-95% absorption rate is excellent and does not require other nutrients such as Vitamin D to promote its absorption, and 3) calcium orotate can be used for many reasons other than bone maintenance. Please do not misunderstand; these other nutrients should still be supplied via the diet or through supplements. For many people, B-12 is more efficiently taken as a sublingual tablet.

Regarding the calcium carbonate/orotate product, this sounds a little deceptive. If you are unsure of the product, I suggest requesting a certificate of analysis for the raw material or asking what percentage of the salt weight is elemental calcium. These percentages will vary greatly; calcium carbonate is roughly 40% where as the orotate form yields about 9.5-10.5%. The superior absorption more than compensates for this difference. Our most current batch of calcium orotate yields 9.98% calcium.

Please contact us if you have any other questions or concerns.