Of the dozens of Coral Calcium products available today, almost all come from one of two sources: “Below-sea marine coral" or "Fossilized, above-sea coral" Though many companies are currently promoting the underwater marine variety of coral, we at HBC have selected fossilized, above-sea coral for the following reasons:

1. Above Sea Fossilized Coral Calcium is far purer than the marine variety.

Marine Coral is basically a mixture of coral, sea shells, silica, sea life rock and sand vacuumed up from the ocean bottom via an industrial dredging ship. This material, more aptly named “Coral sand” is used predominantly for industrial purposes such as cinder blocks and road building materials. A small portion of it is sold vitamin manufacturers as "marine coral calcium". This brownish coral only gains its white appearance after heat treating at high temperatures (to 1000 degrees to reduce the high lead content common to materials taken from the ocean bottom) then adding magnesium carbonate.

Above-Sea Fossilized Coral was pushed up above sea level thousands of years ago before the ocean was polluted by the industrial era. Only the pristine white coral heads are harvested. It is purer and has higher calcium content (37% compared to 20 - 24% for most marine products). Fossilized Coral need NOT be heat treated. It doesn’t have to be. Comparable to the upper flowering portion of a high-quality herb. It is, by definition, purer. According to Professor Yoshino Yamauchi of the Aragonite Institute of Japan, "The ionization process of the aragonite fossil Coral is 6 times greater than that of calcite. Fossil coral calcium is also much greater in electrical conductivity...it is capable of entering into an immediate chemical reaction whenever it is required by the body." In layman's terms, the above sea coral is about 6 times more bio-available than heat treated varieties.

2. Marine Coral is less ecologically sound.

For years, the marine coral web sites have been collecting their coral from under and around the live coral reefs. This dredging process generates a thick layer of silt which smothers the reef killing the coral larvae that grow future reefs in the areas surrounding the existing reefs. On the other hand, harvesting fossilized above-sea coral occurs by cleaning the top soil off of ancient coral heads and trucking them off to a grinding facility has a more minimal environmental impact. It’s more like picking a flower.

3. Specious infomercial claims of coral calcium

A popular television infomercial aggressively promoting below-sea coral has been making claims that marine coral calcium contains a special microbe that jumps out of the coral and begins pulling minerals across the intestinal wall. There is no scientific evidence that these microbes exist! But, even if they did exist it is totally unlikely that they could survive the 1000 degree heat treatment that is used to vaporize the heavy metals in below-sea coral. No, It is far more likely that these microbes flourish only in the minds of certain promoters trying to present their product as extraordinary. Unfortunately, many supplement product promoters are given to such egregious claims, speculations and exaggerations. As a valued resource for NIH funded University testing HBC cannot afford to bring you information on nutraceuticals not supported with scientific fact. We hope we have been instrumental in separating facts from fiction. That said, it is our firm belief that above sea coral calcium is purer, more bioavailable and will therefore work better for you than anything else out there.