High Absorption Calcium
120 Tablets
Each tablet
contains:
Vitamin D
................................................................1
00 I.U.
(as cholecalciferol) Calcium ....................250 mg
(as calcium bis-glycinate*)
Zinc
.................................................... 3.75
mg
(Chelazome®, as zinc bis-glycinate*)
Copper
.................................................0.5
mg
(Chelazome®, as copper bis-glycinate*)
Manganese
.......................................... .0.5 mg
(Chelazome®,
as manganese bis-glycinate*)
Boron
..................................................250 mcg
(as
boron glycinate**)
Black pepper extract
(fruit).........................
2mg
(Bioperine®)
Excipients: stearic acid, cellulose,
croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, silicon
dioxide.
Chelazome® is a registered trademark of Albion
Laboratories, Inc.
*Patented amino acid chelates covered by
Albion International, Inc. patents
4,599,152 and
4,830,716.
**Boron as boron glycinate is used under license
from Albion Laboratories, Inc.
Suggested Use: 2 tablets twice
daily.
Ingredients
High Absorption Calcium is
designed to meet the average adult’s daily requirement for
calcium, while supplying additional minerals known to play key
roles in maintaining strong, healthy bones.* High Absorption
Calcium contains forms of minerals that demonstrate superior
absorption properties. The patented chelates used in High
Absorption Calcium are composed of minerals bound to amino
acids, which assists mineral absorption in the digestive tract.
Bioperine® is a patented herbal extract that enhances nutrient
absorption.
Benefits
Helps Maintain Strong, Healthy
Bones*
How Each Mineral in High Absorption Calcium Supports
Bone Health*
Calcium —
Calcium is the most abundant mineral
in the body, comprising 1 to 2 percent of the total body weight.
Ninety-nine percent of the body’s calcium content is stored in
the bones and teeth. Along with phosphorus and other minerals,
calcium gives bone the remarkable strength it must have to
function as the body’s structural support framework. Calcium and
other minerals can be withdrawn from the bone reservoir when the
body needs more of these minerals to perform various vital
functions. The one percent of the body calcium content not found
in bone is critical to many physiologic functions and processes.
Maintaining bone health is just one aspect of calcium’s
importance.
Calcium is perhaps the best-known essential
mineral in the human diet. The latest Recommended Daily Intake
(RDI) for calcium, as established by the National Academy of
Sciences, varies with age. Adults age 19 to 50 need 1000 mg of
calcium a day. Women should increase this to 1200 mg during
pregnancy and lactation. Men and women over 50 require 1200 mg
daily.
Do Americans get enough calcium? Nationwide food
surveys paint a troubling picture, especially with regard to the
elderly. According to the USDA’s Continuing Food Survey of Food
Intakes by Individuals, over 40% of non-institutionalized men
and women consume less than two-thirds of the RDI for calcium.1
Another problem in the U.S. is the high intake of dietary
phosphorus relative to calcium. Evidence suggests high dietary
phosphorus coupled with inadequate calcium intake leads to loss
of calcium from bone.2
The major role of calcium is bone
mineralization. The mineral structure of bone is formed by
hydroxyapatite, a complex molecule composed of calcium and
phosphorus. Bone also contains magnesium and trace minerals.
Bone is constantly being formed, broken down and "remodeled." In
this non-stop bone turnover process, calcium and other minerals
are withdrawn from bone and re-deposited.
Two types of bone
form the skeleton: cortical bone and trabecular bone. Accounting
for 75 percent of the total bone in the body, cortical bone is
the hard, dense bone found in the long bones of the limbs.
Trabecular bone, the remaining 25 percent of total body bone, is
the spongy-looking bone found at the ends of the long bones, in
the hips and in the spinal vertebrae. Trabecular bone is more
metabolically active than cortical bone, with a higher turnover
rate. Calcium is depleted more easily from trabecular bone than
from cortical bone. Trabecular bone is therefore more vulnerable
to low bone density, the common condition known as
"osteoporosis."
If the diet does not supply an adequate
calcium intake, bone mass is slowly lost.3 Osteoporosis is a
serious condition affecting more than 28 million Americans over
age fifty.4 Eighty percent of people with osteoporosis are
women, although one in eight men also suffer with the disease.
According to current statistics, medical treatment for
osteoporosis in America alone exceeds 13.8 billion dollars
annually.5 Osteoporosis causes more than 1.3 million fractures
each year in the U.S.6
In addition to mineralizing bone,
calcium is required for life-maintaining functions. Calcium
plays a role in numerous vital processes such as muscle
contraction, nerve conduction, blood clotting, permeability of
cellular membranes and enzyme regulation.7
Zinc —
Zinc is an
essential trace mineral that participates in bone metabolism.*
Zinc functions as the metal component of alkaline phosphatase, a
"metalloenzyme" that plays a key role in the formation of new
bone. Alkaline phosphatase facilitates absorption of phosphorus,
another essential mineral for bone, in the intestinal tract. The
mechanism of alkaline phosphatase in bone formation is not
completely understood, but the enzyme is believed to stimulate
deposition of calcium onto collagen, the fibrous protein that
gives bone its structural integrity. Zinc deficiency decreases
alkaline phosphatase activity.8
As dietary components, trace
minerals such as zinc, manganese and copper are important to
bone health throughout life.9* Many nutrients are
interdependent; no one mineral such as calcium, by itself, is
sufficient to maintain healthy bones. Clinical studies have
shown that supplementing calcium along with zinc, copper and
manganese slows the loss of spinal bone mineral density in
postmenopausal women more effectively than calcium alone.10
Women with osteoporosis have been found to excrete more zinc in
their urine than non-osteoporotic women.11 In one study
comparing osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic women, blood levels
of zinc were similar in both groups while urinary zinc was
higher in the women with osteoporosis, showing that zinc was
lost from bone. The osteoporotic women also had "biological
markers" of zinc deficiency.12 Elderly people with bone loss
have been found to have lower levels of zinc in bone
tissue.13
Trace Minerals-the Average Diet
May Not Supply
Enough
Nutritional surveys indicate that many Americans receive
marginal or insufficient amounts of trace elements in the diet.
The USDA’s continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals
found that intakes of zinc and calcium were below 40 percent of
the RDA in both men and women over age 65.14 From 1994 to 1996,
the same survey found less than recommended intakes of zinc and
copper in the elderly.15
Taking a calcium supplement may
actually lead to a zinc deficiency and increase the requirement
for zinc. One study found that high calcium intakes reduced zinc
absorption in the elderly.16
Copper and Manganese and
Boron-Important
Trace Minerals for Bones
Along with zinc, the
essential trace minerals copper and manganese are required for
maintenance of healthy bone tissue.* Extensive studies have
uncovered various role for these minerals in bone metabolism.
Both copper and manganese are essential to the organic matrix in
bone. Copper is a co-factor for lysyl oxidase, an enzyme that
catalyzes cross-linking of collagen and elastin, two key
connective tissue proteins. Biosynthesis of mucopolysaccharides,
long-chain molecules that form the "glue" in the connective
tissue component of bone, requires manganese.17
Rats placed
on diets deficient in copper and manganese show a loss of bone
mineral density after just eight weeks.18 Retrospective studies
(looking back in time) have found higher bone density in
postmenopausal women consuming above average intakes of calcium
whose blood levels of copper are also above average.19 In a
prospective trial (looking forward in time), women who took a
supplement that provided calcium plus zinc, manganese and copper
had less bone loss than women taking calcium alone.20
Boron
—
Boron is a trace mineral widely found in plants. The
importance of boron as a dietary mineral gained recognition
following a 1987 study performed by scientists associated with
the USDA. A group of 12 postmenopausal women were fed a
boron-deficient diet for 119 days and then fed the same diet
with a boron supplement for another 48 days. Boron
supplementation reduced urinary loss of calcium and magnesium
while elevating the blood levels of estrogen and testosterone.21
These changes are considered to favor the prevention of bone
demineralization.
Why Use Chelated Minerals?
In a "chelated"
mineral, the elemental mineral is bonded to a complex of amino
acids. Amino acids are building blocks of protein naturally
found in the body. The body absorbs amino acids (from digestion
of protein in food) efficiently. The body uses chelation as one
means of transporting the minerals in food across the intestinal
wall. The theory behind chelated mineral supplements is that
minerals already chelated are more easily absorbed than mineral
salts such as carbonates and sulfates. While this has yet to be
proven for certain in humans, research studies conducted at Utah
State University in the 1980’s showed higher absorption rates
for chelates compared to mineral salts.22 This same research
further showed that absorption is enhanced when an elemental
mineral is bonded to two amino acids, forming a "di-peptide"
chelate.
The calcium, zinc, copper and manganese in High
Absorption Calcium are di-peptide glycinates: each mineral is
bonded to two molecules of glycine. A "low molecular weight"
amino acid, glycine is readily absorbed. These di-petide
chelates are known as "bis-glycinates."
In a 1990 study
published in the journal Calcified Tissue International, the
absorption of calcium bis-glycinate was compared to six common
sources of supplemental calcium, including calcium carbonate and
calcium citrate.23 Calcium glycinate showed the highest
absorption of all forms tested, with 81% better absorption than
calcium citrate and 87% better absorption than calcium
carbonate.
Vitamin D and Bone Metabolism
Vitamin D regulates
the absorption of calcium in the digestive tract and the
withdrawal of calcium from bone.* When the amount of calcium in
the blood falls below 10 mg/ml, vitamin D is converted to its
active form by parathyroid hormone. Activated vitamin D
(1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) stimulates absorption of calcium in
the intestinal tract and increases calcium retention by the
kidneys. Vitamin D3 also withdraws calcium from the skeletal
reservoir if needed, which underscores the importance of
ingesting an optimum amount of calcium on a daily
basis.
Bioperine“ For Enhanced Absorption
Bioperine® is a
natural extract derived from black pepper that increases
nutrient absorption.* Preliminary trials on humans have shown
significant increases in the absorption of nutrients consumed
along with Bioperine®.24
Scientific References
1 Ryan, A.
Craig, L., Finn, S. Nutrient intakes and dietary patterns of
older Americans: a national study. J Gerontol
1992;47(5):M145-50.
2 Calvo, M., Park, Y. Changing phosphorus
content of the U.S. diet: potential for adverse effects on bone.
J Nutr 1996;126 (4 Suppl):1168S-80S.
3 Anderson, J. Calcium,
phosphorus and human bone development. J. Nutr 1996;
126:1153S-58S.
4 Shapes, S. et. al. Osteoporosis. Recommended
guidelines and New Jersey legislation. N J Med
2000;97(11):53-7.
5 Iqbal, M. Osteoporosis: epidemiology,
diagnosis and treatment. South Med J 2000;93(1):2-18.
6
South-Paul, J. Osteoporosis: part I. Evaluation and assessment.
Am Fam Physician 2001;63(5):897-904.
7 Groff, J., Grapper, S.,
Hunt. S. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. 2nd ed. St.
Paul, MN:West Publishing;1995.
8 DiSilvestro, R., Cousins, R.
Physiological ligands for copper and zinc. Ann Rev Nutr
1983;3:261-88.
9 Ilich, J., Kerstetter, J. Nutrition in bone
health revisited: a story beyond calcium. J Am Coll Nutr
2000;19(6):715-37.
10 Saltman, P., Strause, L. The role of
trace minerals in osteoporosis. J AM Coll Nutr
1993;12(4):384-9.
11 Herzburg, M., et. al. Zinc excretion in
osteoporotic women. J Bone Miner Res 1990 5(3):251-7.
12 Relea,
P. et. al. Zinc, biochemical markers of nutrition, and type I
osteoporosis. Age Ageing 1995;24(4):303-7.
13 Atik, O. Zinc and
senile osteoporosis. J Am Geriatr Soc 1983;31(12):790-1.
14
Ryan, A. Craig, L. Finn, S. Nutrient intakes and dietary
patterns of older Americans: a national study. J Gerontol
1992;47(5):M145-50.
15 Ma, J., Betts, N. Zinc and copper
intakes and their major food sources for older adults in the
1994-96 continuing survey of food intakes by individuals (CSFII)
J Nutr 2000;130(11):2838-43.
16 Wood, R., Zheng, J. High
dietary calcium intakes reduce zinc absorption and balance in
humans. Am J Clin Nutr 1997;65:1803-9.
17 Saltman, P. Strause,
L. The role of trace minerals in osteoporosis. Journal of the
American College of Nutrition 1993;12(4):384-89.
18 Andon, M.
et. al. Effects of dietary copper and manganese restriction on
serum mineral concentrations and femoral bone density in rats J
Am Coll Nutr 1992;11:600-05.
19 Howard, G. et, al. Serum trace
mineral concentrations, dietary calcium intake and spinal bone
mineral density in postmenopausal women. J Trace Elem Exp Med
1992; 5:23-31.
20 Strause, L. et. al. Spinal bone loss in
postmenopausal women supplemented with calcium and trace
minerals. J Nutr 1994;124(7):1060-64.
21 Nielsen, F. et. al.
Effect of dietary boron on mineral, estrogen, and testosterone
metabolism in postmenopausal women. FASEB J 1987;1:394-7.
22
Ashmead, H., Graff, D., Ashmead, H. Intestinal Absorption of
Metal Ions and Chelates. Springfield, IL:Charles C.
Thomas;1985.
23 Heaney, R. Recker, R. Weaver, C. Absorbability
of calcium sources: The limited role of solubility. Calcif
Tissue Int 1990;46:300-04.
24 'Bioperine®–Nature's
Bioavailability Enhancing Thermonutrient. Executive Summary'
1996; Sabinsa Corporation, Piscataway, N.J.
© 2001 Doctor's
Best, Inc.
Revised7/10/01
*This statement has not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is
not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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