What is Sango sea coral and where does it come from?

The Sango sea coral grows in the waters around the island of Okinawa in Japan, where the so-called Sango coral reefs are found. There it is also called “Gold of Okinawa”.

Okinawa is located on a former coral reef of the Sango sea coral. The rain flows through the fossilized reef, absorbing the valuable, now ionized minerals and trace elements of the Sango sea coral, is simultaneously filtered and cleaned by the coral and then fills the population's drinking water wells.

The inhabitants of the Okinawa region in Japan are known for their high life expectancy and their good health in old age. Civilization diseases such as cardiovascular problems and cancer were virtually unknown in Okinawa. As part of a study carried out from 1976 to 1994, the so-called Okinawa Centenarian Study, a team of scientists investigated for the first time the diet of the small island people and why people in Okinawa live to be 100 years old or older more often than in other regions of the world and also more often than in the rest of Japan, and in one third of all cases are still able to manage their daily lives independently (cf. https://orcls.org/ocs/).

It was found that an important difference from other Japanese regions was Okinawa's special water. It is mainly the unique mineral composition of the drinking water, which is due to the Sango coral rock.

The bioavailability of Sango sea coral

The minerals in the Sango sea coral are in ionized form, which significantly improves their absorption in the body. In particular, the calcium from the sea coral is characterized by above-average bioavailability of ~90% as a Japanese study from 1999 showed (cf. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jnsv1973/45/5/45_5_509/_article). This means that 90% of the calcium we consume actually reaches our cells and is not simply excreted again.

In conventional preparations, it is often only present in its solid compound as calcium carbonate. After ingestion, it must then be laboriously dissolved during the digestive process. Only then can our body metabolize the mineral. This lengthy process often reduces the bioavailability of common preparations to 20-40%.

Reinhard Danne writes in his book “Sango Sea Corals” that Sango sea coral and the calcium it contains are not only significantly more bioavailable, but can also be detected in the bloodstream within 20 minutes.

The researchers involved found that the minerals in sea corals are much better absorbed by the intestinal mucosa than conventional dietary supplements made from carbonate compounds. The Sango sea coral therefore really does seem to be something special and cannot be compared to conventional carbonates.

Sango sea coral resembles human bones

The Sango sea coral is so similar to the structure of our bones that it - as described here: https://www.freepatentsonline.com/DE20311110.html - would be ideal as a bone replacement material. Due to its similarity to human bone, the body does not view it as a foreign substance.

French scientists discovered this in a study at the end of the 1980s (cf. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbm.820230708) that bone implants made from coral are slowly reabsorbed by the body's own bone tissue, while at the same time the coral is replaced by new bone tissue over time.The scientists concluded that coral is an excellent biomaterial that acts as a scaffold in the body around which osteoblasts (bone cells) attach themselves, allowing new bone to form. Finnish researchers found something similar in 1996 (see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0142961295003517?via%3Dihub).

A few years later, the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin began using coral as a bone replacement material in the skull area. The results were published a few years later (1998) under the title "Natural coral calcium carbonate as alternative substitute in bone defects of the skull" in a specialist journal for oral and maxillofacial surgery (cf. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s100060050037).

Why should calcium and magnesium be supplemented together?

Magnesium is necessary for proper metabolization and incorporation of calcium into bones. Without sufficient magnesium, calcium may be more likely to be deposited in soft tissues or blood vessels, increasing the risk of calcification.

An excess of calcium can also deplete magnesium reserves in the body. The ratio between the two minerals is crucial for the healthy functioning of muscles, nerves and the cardiovascular system.

Calcium, for example, is responsible for muscle contraction. Magnesium, on the other hand, ensures that muscles relax. An imbalance can promote muscle cramps or tension.

The recommended optimal ratio of calcium to magnesium is about 2:1.

Calcium and Magnesium in the Sango Sea Coral

Calcium and magnesium in the Sango sea coral are also present in a ratio of 2:1, which is ideal for our body. Only if this ratio is maintained can the minerals be optimally metabolized by our organism.

Is Sango sea coral vegan and gluten-free?

In fact, corals are marine animals and not, as is often assumed, marine plants.

The material used to make the food supplements is not the actual coral, but its natural byproducts in the form of lime. The coral constantly deposits lime and in this way builds huge coral reefs of enormous proportions over the centuries. The naturally broken off parts of the coral structure that the coral animals once formed are collected and processed into powder. This is why Sango sea coral is also suitable for vegans.

In addition, Sango sea coral is gluten-free and can therefore be consumed without concerns by people with gluten intolerance.

Are coral reefs being destroyed for the Sango sea coral?

The Sango sea coral is not stolen from living coral reefs to produce high-quality nutritional supplements. Instead, only those coral fragments that have naturally detached from the coral reefs over time and are now found scattered across the seabed around Okinawa are collected - under strict controls.

Possible side effects

In individual cases, side effects may occur when taking Sango coral. High doses may cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. However, these symptoms are rare and can often be alleviated or avoided by adjusting the dosage.In particular, people with kidney disease or people who take medication that affects the calcium level in the blood should speak to a doctor before taking Sango Coral. Additional calcium intake in the form of Sango Coral could have a negative effect on the calcium balance in the body.

Additional sources

· European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2010), Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to calcium and maintenance of normal bone and teeth (ID 2731, 3155, 4311, 4312, 4703), maintenance of normal hair and nails (ID 399, 3155), maintenance of normal blood LDL-cholesterol concentrations (ID 349, 1893), maintenance of normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations (ID 349, 1893), reduction in the severity of symptoms related to the premenstrual syndrome (ID 348, 1892), “cell membrane permeability” (ID 363), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 232), contribution to normal psychological functions (ID 233), contribution to the maintenance or achievement of a normal body weight (ID 228, 229) and regulation of normal cell division and differentiation (ID 237) according to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, http://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/efsajournal/pub/1725.

· European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2010), Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to magnesium and “hormonal health” (ID 243), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 244), contribution to normal psychological functions (ID 245, 246), maintenance of normal blood glucose concentrations (ID 342), maintenance of normal blood pressure (ID 344, 366, 379), protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage (ID 351), maintenance of the normal function of the immune system (ID 352), maintenance of normal blood pressure during pregnancy (ID 367), resistance to mental stress (ID 375, 381), reduction of gastric acid levels (ID 376), maintenance of normal fat metabolism (ID 378) and maintenance of normal muscle contraction (ID 380, ID 3083) according to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, http://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/efsajournal/pub/1807.

· Spencer, H.; Fuller, H.; Norris, C.; Williams, D. (1994), Effect of magnesium on the intestinal absorption of calcium in man, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Volume 13, Issue 5, p. 485 - 492, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7836628.

· German Nutrition Society (DGE), Austrian Nutrition Society (ÖGE), Swiss Nutrition Society (SGE) (2018), DA-CH reference values ​​for nutrient intake, 2nd edition, 4th updated edition. Or online: https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/referenzwerte/magnesium/; https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/referenzwerte/calcium/.

· Goluch-Koniuszy, ZS (2016), Nutrition of women with hair loss problem during the period of menopause, Menopause Review (Przegląd Menopauzalny), Volume 15, Issue 1, p. 56 - 61, https://www.termedia.pl/Nutrition-of-women-with-hair-loss-problem-during-the-period-of-menopause,4,27186,0,1.html.