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.

	June 2002: Stockpile of marine "coral sand" before whitenening.

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.

	June 2002: Fossilized Okinawan coral awaits the HerbaLab harvest.

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