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by
James Chappell, D.C., N.D., Ph.D., M.H.
Author of The Miracle Elements: Fossilized Stony Coral Minerals
In light
of recent infomercials by some companies promoting marine coral
products, I thought I would explain the significant difference
between marine coral and fossilized stony coral.
These companies acquire
coral from a company from Okinawa. The process used to remove
what he is calling dead stony coral from a marine bed, is through
dredging and vacuuming. In this process, a large ship hovers over
a coral reef while dredging and vacuuming up what is called sea
floor coral rubble. Contained within this "rubble" are
coral larvae which have settled to the ocean floor along with
a litany of other organisms vital to the health of the nearby
coral reef. From this process, the free floating particles (sediment)
of sea life and rubble cause a tremendous turbidity in the water.
This sediment covers the living coral reef choking off life giving
oxygen and light.
Because these companies
coral is from our current polluted oceans, it may contain high
levels of mercury, lead and other heavy metals in addition to
all the toxic chemicals currently being dumped in our oceans including
DDT. In fact, ConsumerLab.com reports high levels of lead in this
companies marine coral. In order to remove these contaminants,
marine coral is usually then heated to from 600 to 1,500 degrees
Fahrenheit. This process has been known to change the crystalline
structure of minerals, thereby either causing a loss in their
effectiveness or totally destroying them, as is the case of magnesium.
This company claims
their marine coral has a natural calcium to magnesium ratio of
2 to 1. What he is NOT telling us is that magnesium is destroyed
at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and must be added to his product at
the processing plant to reach a level of 2 to 1 calcium to magnesium.
The human body has a calcium to magnesium ratio of 48 to 1 and
fossilized stony coral has a ratio of 43 up to 48 to 1. Some magnesium
may be added to enhance alkalinity, but not at this companies
level.
Therefore,
there are four major reasons not to consume or buy marine coral;
1.
Extracting marine coral destroys our delicate marine eco-system.
2. Marine coral is contaminated with high levels
of lead. (www.ConsumerLab.com)
3. Commercial marine coral must be heated to
be purified of toxic chemicals and heavy ocean metals. This
process alters the structure of minerals contained therein.
4. Drastically changing the balance of calcium
to magnesium, as found in nature, is not wise.
To the contrary, fossilized
stony coral is harvested from land quarries. This coral has been
out of the ocean for thousands, if not, millions of years. It
is the water that has passed through fossilized stony coral that
the Okinawa's drink on a regular basis. Consuming this water and
the minerals from out of the sea, fossilized stony coral has contributed
to the people of Okinawa living a long and healthy life, not marine
coral.
Please don't just
take my word for it. Here are a few quotes from other experts
in marine coral minerals:
"Clearing large
areas of coral rubble would certainly impact reef ecosystems,
not only because coral larvae settle on rubble (which is well-documented),
but also because there are countless organisms that inhabit spaces
within corals and rubble. Removing coral rubble from areas where
the underlying sediment is unsuitable for larval settlement would
certainly inhibit new corals from attaching and growing. I can't
conceive that this practice would not negatively affect the long-term
integrity of most coral reef ecosystems. There are other complexities,
such as the removal of coral rubble that would change micro-flow
patterns near the underlying substrate, in turn affecting the
settling ability of coral larvae."
Michael Dowgiallo, Ph.D.
Coral Reef Program Coordinator
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
"This activity
(dredging & vacuuming) can harm the corals and the organisms
that live in and on them in two ways: First, the dredging and
vacuuming activity lessens and stirs up large amounts of sediment
in the water. This sediment smothers and kills corals and other
organisms in the ecosystem. An additional adverse effect of stirring
up the sediment with dredging and vacuuming activities is that
the turbidity of the water prevents light from reaching the corals
and the corals need light in order to survive and grow. Secondly,
reefs are formed (and grow) by a process of bioaccretion (cementing
together) of carbonate particles that have been removed from the
living coral by bioerosion. If all the sediment that has accumulated
around a reef (especially that which has already begun to solidify
and hence does not risk smothering the reef) is scraped away,
the reef loses its capacity to grow and keep up with the sea-level
rise. Failure to grow and keep pace with sea-level rise would
mean the demise of the reef because the corals need light and
thus must be near the surface in order to live."
Marjorie L.
Reaka-Kudla, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Biology
The University of Maryland
"I would have
an extremely hard time believing anyone who suggests that this
activity (dredging and vacuuming) would be benign. Dead corals
may act as a substrate for new colonizers, so vacuuming up even
dead corals or coral fragments might hinder the ability of reefs
to recover in the future. Even if dredging/vacuuming is occurring
where there are no (or few) corals, there are certainly other
organisms being directly affected, such as sea whips and anemones,
many of which also provide structure to benthic habitats and thus
provide essential ecosystem functions (such as hiding places for
juvenile fish and substrate for various life stages of benthic
invertebrates)."
Clark Field,
Ph.D.
School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences
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