Which coral? Sorting through the facts, fictions and outright lies!
So many claims! So many half-truths and falsehoods.
If you're confused over which coral is best, it's not as difficult as you may
think to separate fact from fiction. Of the dozens of products available, almost
all come from one of two sources: below-sea marine coral (vacuumed indiscriminately
from the ocean floor)... or above-sea "fossilized coral", harvested from long-dead
reefs above the water line.
Is marine coral "pure"?
Marine coral collection is often portrayed as a careful harvest of bits of coral as
they fall from the reef. The truth is that marine coral is literally vacuumed from the
ocean bottom by an industrial dredging ship. Hundreds of tons of sand, coral, shells,
seaweed and sea creatures are brought to the ship deck. There's no way to separate sand
from coral - so marine coral is a mixture which is more accurately named "coral sand".
Most raw material dredged from the ocean floor
is used for industrial purposes, such as cinder blocks and road building materials, but a small portion is taken
for human use and called "marine coral calcium". Raw "marine coral" appears identical to brownish
beach sand mixed with bits of shells and coral. It gains it's white appearance only after heat
treating and adding magnesium carbonate.
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June 2002: Stockpile of marine "coral sand" before whitenening.
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Fossilized coral is 100% coral
Fossilized, above-sea coral is pure and has a higher calcium content (37% compared to 20-24% for
most marine coral). Many thousands of years ago, this coral was a thriving reef. It died, became
fossilized, and geological action pushed the ancient reef above sea level - where eons of time
covered it with windblown soil, preserving it from soaking up the ocean pollution of the industrial
era. Harvesting simply involves removing the protective layer of soil, collecting the ancient coral,
and trucking it away for grinding.
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June 2002: Fossilized Okinawan coral awaits the HerbaLab harvest.
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The final word on purity
Marine coral promoters are unwilling to show you a Certificate of Analysis. We do.
Click here to view Certificate.
There is nothing to hide in a pure product.
Mineral Content
Some below-sea coral suppliers claim that minerals have been "washed out" of above-sea coral.
Nonsense! Again, please check our Certificate of Analysis. All essential
minerals are present. In fact, the most important mineral, calcium, is found at about 37% -
whereas most marine or below-sea coral products contain 20% to 24%, due to their sand content.
Calcium : Magnesium ratio
One major marine coral supplier claims to have coral with a naturally occurring 2:1 ratio of calcium
to magnesium. By happy coincidence, they "discovered" this secret undersea source when the U.S.
nutrition industry began promoting the benefits of 2:1 calcium to magnesium. Since the company refuses
to provide raw material samples for independent analysis, professional opinion is that magnesium is
added during processing.
A simple test is revealing.
Pure coral does not float but, when magnesium is
added, this white fluffy powder sits on top of water and cannot be mixed in. Coral products with
added magnesium are easy to spot.
Coral larvae propogate in the dead coral debris
surrounding a reef. Marine coral harvesting suffocates them (or vacuums them up!), and another reef
begins to die.
Sound and unsound ecological practice
The marine coral dredging process kills healthy, living coral - stirring up a thick cloud of silt which
smothers the reef, killing the coral larvae that grow future reefs. (What Scientists Say.)
We believe that marine-coral harvesting, as
practiced, is an environmentally irresponsible operation. The coral reefs are endangered worldwide and need all
the help we can provide. (33 Reasons to protect the coral reefs and oceans.)
Heat Treatment
Marine coral has been raised to 1000øF to reduce the high lead content common in materials
taken from the ocean floor. In heat treating, calcium transitions from aragonite crystal form into calcite form.
Fossilized Coral is not heat treated. The
aragonite form in our fossilized coral is more crystalline and has a
higher specific gravity than calcite. 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."
The phantom microbes
A popular TV info-mercial has promoted the notion that only below-sea coral contains
a special microbe that jumps out of the coral and begins pulling minerals across the intestinal wall. Medical
doctors scoff at the concept. No evidence for the existance of these miraculous microbes is offered, and if
they do exist it's unlikely they could survive the 1000øF heat treatment used to vaporize the heavy metals in
below-sea coral.
Conclusions
Most coral products are promoted with, shall we say, flexible regard for truth. What
you read anywhere on this site about HerbaCoral products and fossilized vs marine coral is supported with
scientific fact, lab reports, independent research and analysis, and the direct observations of marine biologists.
We hope we've helped you separate fact from
fiction. The most important fact of all, for you and our thousands of customers, is that our coral calcium
works better than any product we've ever encountered. You may not wish to simply take our word for that -
so please see what people like yourself have to say of their first-hand experience with HerbaCoral.
Our customers write.
Order HerbaCoral™ Coral Calcium
HerbaCoral™ Coral Calcium & 72 Minerals - 90 Capsules
HerbaCoral™ Coral Calcium & 72 Minerals - Powder
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