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There
have been a growing number of questions regarding our
calcium products and lead. Can we actually get the lead
out!? Lead is everywhere in our environment! All animals
and plants contain small amounts of lead, as does the
soil from which plants are grown. Therefore, virtually
everything we eat or drink contains some lead (ie. water,
grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products). Since
lead is naturally present in the earth's soil, water,
and atmosphere, removing it completely is impossible!
What is important, is how much lead we consume daily.
The FDA has estimated the tolerance level at 750
mcg lead per day for most adults and 250 mcg
lead per day for pregnant women.
This
issue is very important at Vitamer Labs! We have
strict specifications our vendors must follow to ensure
raw materials will meet our standards. For example,
our calcium carbonate (raw materials) will not contain
more than 3 parts per million (ppm) of lead. Therefore,
if one consumed 1000 mg of calcium from calcium carbonate,
no more than 7.5 mcg would be ingested. Recently
our QA/QC department randomly tested our products containing
calcium. As you can see, they all passed with flying
colors.
| VL# |
Description |
#
Tablets Daily |
Total
Calcium |
Lead |
| 607 |
Cal-Mag-Zinc |
2
tablets |
1000
mg |
2.7
mcg |
| 683 |
Chelated
Calcium |
4
tablets |
1000
mg |
1.4
mcg |
| 603 |
Phytonutrient
Based Cal-Mag |
5
tablets |
1000
mg |
1.5
mcg |
| 687 |
Max-A-Min |
2
tablets |
1000
mg |
4.0
mcg |
| 684 |
Super
Mineral |
6
tablets |
1000
mg |
7.4
mcg |
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All
products tested fell under 7.5 mcg lead per 1000 mg
calcium. If you have customers concerned with lead levels,
please share this information and encourage them to
call Tracee or Patricia with further questions as needed.
Many
experts believe it is a greater risk not to consume
calcium supplements because of the health benefits associated
with the consumption of 1000-1500 mg calcium per day.
Calcium helps build a larger bone mass in teens and
young adults, and slows or minimizes the rate of bone
loss in older adults. This is extremely important since
currently more than 25 million Americans are affected
by osteoporosis.
The
National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that
most Americans do not consume the recommended levels
of calcium. The average daily intake for women is about
600 mg and about 700 mg for men. Approximately 80% of
American women do not consume enough calcium, while
one in four elderly women are affected by osteoporosis.
Pregnant
women may not be consuming enough calcium either! A
Canadian study showed the incidence of high blood pressure
was reduced by 70% among women who consumed 1500 mg
calcium per day. The incidence of pre-eclampsia (AKA:
high blood pressure), which can be fatal to women and
their unborn babies, dropped by 62% by consuming calcium
at 1500 mg/day. Vitamer Labs' Prenatal formula (VL #
515) is an excellent supplement to help meet the goal
of 1500 mg/day by providing 1000 mg/day in 4 tablets.
Small amounts of calcium are present in practically
all foods. Therefore, almost all diets will provide
approximately 300 mg to 400 mg of calcium per day, even
without dairy products.
A
recent New York Times article has raised much concern
on lead in calcium supplements. Experts in the field
of nutrition and health have held a conference in the
northern California area to discuss this important matter.
Vitamer is waiting for the outcome of these discussions.
We are currently addressing this issue by re-evaluating
our raw materials and may consider coming out with a
product containing less than or equal to 0.5 mcg lead
per 1000 mg elemental calcium.
The
final message? If your stores have customers concerned
about the lead content in calcium products, they can
feel 110% confident in safely recommending their private
label products from Vitamer Labs!
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