March 26, 2024
Why Plant Calcium is Better for Bone Health!
This week, we’re discussing the benefits of organic plant...
The calcium in most supplements comes from ground up inorganic rocks (typically limestone). Rocks aren’t part of our diets, and the minerals in rocks are not as “digestion ready” as those found in plants. This can affect absorption and may cause stomach upset or other gastrointestinal issues.
Organic plant calcium and magnesium from algae can help increase bone density, not just slow bone density loss, which is the typical experience with rock calcium. Better yet, the plant calcium in TrueOsteo is gentle on the stomach and much less likely to disrupt regularity.
Organic Vitamin D3 from algae helps calcium get absorbed and works with MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 (from chickpea) to help bind calcium to bone and increase bone strength.
MenaQ7® is the only vitamin K2 scientifically studied to help bone and artery health. Together, these vitamins help direct calcium to where it belongs - in your bones, not your arteries.
Vitamin D helps produce a protein called osteocalcin, and vitamin K2 activates it to support the binding of calcium to bone (promoting density and strength). Similarly, these vitamins help produce and activate another protein (Matrix GLA) that helps ensure calcium isn’t deposited in arteries and blood vessel walls.
To help ignite the bone formation process, your body uses silicon from the mineral silica – which works to attract calcium to bones, resulting in harder, denser bones. TrueOsteo includes organic and soluble silica from bamboo shoots to energize healthy bone building.
Individual Results May Vary
View All ReviewsAlgaeCal® is the premier source of plant calcium. One of the advantages of being a plant from the ocean instead of the land is ocean algae offers a richer source of trace minerals.
In addition to calcium, AlgaeCal® naturally provides magnesium, silica, manganese, and other minerals that help support healthy bones.
AlgaeCal® is USDA Certified Organic and is the only plant calcium source with scientific evidence indicating it may help you increase bone density, not just slow bone density loss.
AlgaeCal® has been the subject of several studies demonstrating its safety when used as recommended.
Most vitamin D3 comes from sheep’s wool, but VegD3® is plant-based, from organic algae making it suitable for everyone, including vegans and vegetarians.
The vitamin D3 in VegD3® is identical to the vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) obtained from animal sources. In addition to being USDA Certified Organic, VegD3® is Vegan Society Registered, Non-GMO Project Verified and Halal certified.
MenaQ7® is the only vitamin K2 scientifically studied to help promote bone strength, bone mineral density and support artery and blood vessel health by helping to direct calcium where it belongs - in your bones, not your vascular system.
TrueOsteo+ contains the same 180mcg of MenaQ7® vitamin K2 that was found to be beneficial in these research studies.
MenaQ7® contains up to 99% pure menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Also important, the MK-7 is in the bioactive trans MK-7 form, which is believed to be the longest lasting form of vitamin K2 in the bloodstream.
Orgen-Si® is a bamboo extract standardized for 75% plant Silica, providing silicon along with the co-factors and co-nutrients of the same bamboo shoots – a common food in Asian and Indian diets.
Unlike silica in the soil, plant silica from bamboo is organic and soluble so the body can digest and use it.
The silicon in silica helps energize the bone formation process. One of its key functions is helping to attract calcium to the bone matrix, supporting harder, more dense bones.
The failure to get adequate silica and silicon intake has been linked to weaker and less dense bones, which is why the natural Orgen-Si® silica is part of TrueOsteo+.
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for calcium of 1,200mg is meant to be your targeted daily intake from food and supplements combined. TrueOsteo+ gives you a minimum of 720mg of calcium per day (4 capsules), which comes from AlgaeCal®.
Note: Since AlgaeCal® is a natural growing plant, the percentage of calcium varies slightly from batch to batch and is often closer to 750mg in a daily serving (but not less than 720mg).
With the 720mg of calcium from TrueOsteo, you would only need 480mg of calcium from food to reach the 1,200mg daily target, and according to the USDA, the average adult daily intake of calcium in the USA from food is about 800mg (likely less for those not eating dairy).
So the amount of calcium you get in the TrueOsteo supplement should be adequate for most diets to reach the RDA.
We use the same amount of AlgaeCal® that was used in the published research. These studies indicated that this amount of AlgaeCal® helped promote increased bone density, on average, and was found to be safe when used as directed.
The AlgaeCal® plant powder is not all calcium, typically it’s about 28% to 30% calcium. In addition to calcium, the AlgaeCal® powder naturally provides other minerals such as magnesium, silica and manganese which also help support bone health.
The Lithothamnium superpositum algae species used by AlgaeCal® grows in shallow waters on the Atlantic coastline of South America.
After about 180 days, the living algae naturally detach from seaweed on the ocean floor, and wash ashore, where they are sustainably hand-harvested. This hard-harvesting limits the impact on the local ecology. There’s no digging or dredging – each ball of algae is hand-picked at low tide. This minimizes the impact on the marine ecosystem.
After that, the algae are cleaned and locally milled into powder in Brazil. The powder is then tested for nutrient content as well as heavy metal levels and other microorganisms.
Excess amounts of phytic acid or phytates can interfere with mineral absorption, so it’s best to take TrueOsteo after meals which aren’t high in phytate content, when possible.
Some food types that are relatively high in phytates are legumes (e.g. beans) and nuts/seeds. Unrefined grains and tuber vegetables (potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots) also contain phytic acid.
Phytic acid in these foods can be reduced when they are cooked, pickled or fermented. For example, even though the MenaQ7® vitamin K2 in TrueOsteo is derived from chickpeas, it doesn’t contain any meaningful amount of phytic acid because it’s fermented.
The 4mg or 5mg of strontium naturally found in a daily serving of AlgaeCal® will not impact bone scans (it’s an amount consistent with normal dietary intake).
When you take hundreds of milligrams each day (like the amount found in stand-alone strontium citrate supplements) that may increase the risk of a false bone density reading.
Yes, if it’s easier for you to take, you can add the powder to smoothies, shakes or other food and beverages that you find convenient.
Yes, it can, but that concern has been addressed with the MenaQ7® vitamin K2 in TrueOsteo. It’s made with a protective coating that protects the vitamin K2 from aggressive minerals in the capsule and does not impact the potency of the vitamin K2 once you ingest TrueOsteo.
TrueOsteo Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 2 Capsules / Servings per container: 60
Per Serving Amount (2 capsules) |
Per serving % Daily Value |
Per Day Amount (4 capsules) |
Per Day % Daily Value |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Vitamin D (as vitamin D3 cholecalciferol from organic algae) (VegD3®) | 12.5 mcg | 63% | 25 mcg | 125% |
Calcium | 360 mg | 28% | 720 mg | 55% |
Magnesium | 30 mg | 7% | 60 mg | 14% |
AlgaeCal® (Algas calcareas.sp) | 1,285 mg | * | 2,570 mg | * |
Bamboo shoot extract (75% silica) (Orgen-Si®) | 10 mg | * | 20 mg | * |
Boron (as boron amino acid chelate) | 1 mg | * | 2 mg | * |
Vitamin K2 (as menaquinone-7) (MenaQ7® CryoCap™ chickpea extract) | 90 mcg | * | 180 mcg | * |
* Daily value not established. | ||||
Other ingredients: microcrystalline cellulose, hypromellose, stearic acid, medium chain triglycerides, silica and rice flour. |
Each serving of TrueOsteo consists of 2 capsules. It’s recommended you take 2 servings daily (4 capsules total). Take the capsules with water.
When possible, we recommend taking TrueOsteo after meals.
If you’re taking medications, we recommend taking TrueOsteo at a separate time, ideally about 3-4 hours apart from the time you take your medication, but we also advise consulting with your physician or pharmacist.
More information for those who like the finer details