Organic life – plants, animals and humans – depend on compounds from the mineral kingdom to support its existence. Minerals are naturally occurring elements that are a part of the body’s tissues and fluids. Nutritionally, there are macro minerals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus) and trace minerals (iron, zinc, boron, chromium, copper, germanium, iodine and vanadium), each one impacting many areas of health.

As with other nutrients, nature supplies minerals in many foods in a generally absorbable from and in balance with other nutrients. For example, dairy products are a rich source of calcium, but also deliver the important phosphorus and magnesium required to keep levels of all three minerals in ideal balance. Plants have served as a major dietary source of many minerals, particularly trace minerals, as they take up the nutrients from the soil. However, soil erosion and agrochemical farming techniques have depleted much of the natural mineral content in plants. Thus, leading consumers to seek bio-available minerals in supplements or fortified foods.

Bio-availability refers to how available or absorbable an element is for use in the body. (See About Your Body.) This is where mineral supplements vary widely. While some supplements have a high mineral content, many of those minerals are not easily absorbed and are not as efficient and useable in the body.

Bio-availability is an important concept in mineral nutrition. Inorganic mineral salts (carbonates, sulfates, etc.) are used inefficiently by the body, because they must be converted into an absorbable form and then assembled with carrier proteins to assist transport. Digestive disorders, age, decreases in the gastric acid secretion and other health factors can also impact the body’s ability to absorb inorganic mineral salts. This is why providing your body with efficiently absorbable nutrients is the key. Organic or naturally chelated minerals, such as the calcium found in milk, have been shown to be efficiently absorbed in the body. Evidence has shown these naturally chelated forms do not interfere with absorption of one another, nor is their absorption hindered by other dietary factors. Ideally, supplemental minerals—whether in fortified foods or dietary supplements—should be in a natural or chelated state.

Osteoform contains organic minerals that are nutritionally functional amino acid chelates that possess the absorption advantages of natural chelates present in food. To illustrate this point, we conducted an experiment simulating the body’s natural absorption environment using Osteoform’s unique calcium amino acid chelate compared against other competitors’ calcium citrate and calcium carbonate.