Did you know: calcium from natural and dietary sources is better absorbed and utilized by the body than calcium supplements, and it’s healthier and safer as well! Learn how to make egg shell calcium powder in this post.
Calcium is one of the most important minerals needed by the body to be able to function normally.
It’s not only good for strong teeth and bones but also necessary for stimulating hormones secretions, clotting blood and regulating heart beats.
Our bodies do not make calcium and as such, we need to get it from dietary sources such as raw and grass fed dairy, leafy greens, citrus fruits such as pineapple, nuts & seeds such as sesame, almonds, etc.
Egg shells from eggs got from free range or forager chicken (which are free to roam about and eat whatever they want including bugs & worms) are one of the best natural sources of calcium that can be easily digested, absorbed and utilized by the body.
Why Make Your Own Calcium Supplement from Egg Shells?
Note: Always consult your doctor before undertaking any new dietary changes. If you are allergic to eggs, do not consume egg shells. If you have any chronic/severe health issues, please consult your medical practitioner before consuming egg shells.
1. It’s safer & healthier
Avoid the nasties in conventional calcium supplements such as artificial preservatives and harmful chemicals.
An even more important health issue: did you know that conventional calcium supplements are highly likely to cause heart disease, breast cancer, arthritis, kidney stones, brain lesions, etc?
Men who take calcium supplements are more likely to die of heart disease than those who do not take supplements! Read more about it here, here and here.
2. Better digested, absorbed & utilized by the body
Calcium from natural and dietary sources is better absorbed and utilized by the body than calcium supplements.
3. It’s cheaper
If you eat an egg for breakfast every day, then it costs absolutely nothing to make your own calcium supplements from egg shells since you’re going to either compost or trash the egg shells anyway.
4. Prevents calcium deficiency
Many people could be calcium-deficient without even knowing it.
Do you experience muscle cramps, hair loss, dry skin or body stiffness?
Then you might be calcium deficient. If you’re body lacks calcium, it makes up for it by pulling it from your teeth and bones, which naturally contain high amounts of calcium (about 99% of the body’s calcium), thereby leading to serious health risks including osteoporosis.
Egg Shell Calcium Benefits
Calcium from natural and dietary sources is better absorbed and utilized by the body than calcium supplements.
Calcium from natural and dietary sources is better absorbed and utilized by the body than calcium supplements.
Did you know that the mineral composition of an egg shell is similar to that of our teeth and bones? One medium-sized egg shell approximately contains about 27 micro elements including boron, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, silicon, sulfur, manganese that are all necessary for a healthy body in general. Here are some benefits of egg shell calcium and why you should take it for optimum health:
- Natural source of calcium.
- Prevents osteoporosis.
- Promotes strong teeth and bones.
- Checks loss of bone density in post menopausal women.
- Reduces pain from osteoporosis.
- Fights off joint problems & reduces joint pain.
How to Make Egg Shell Calcium
1. Buy a tray of organic and free range eggs. Try to avoid normal/factory eggs. This is important since we need high quality calcium and factory eggs are very nutrient-deficient. Try experimenting yourself – test it out by trying to crack a factory egg and a free range egg, you’ll find that factory egg shells are softer and break easier compared to free range eggs!
2. Since I buy free range eggs farm fresh, they’re normally covered in dirt, tiny feathers and sometimes bird poop. I know! Not every hygienic – so when I get home, I wash them carefully & thoroughly with soap and warm water. Then store in the refrigerator.
3. Instead of trashing/composting, save the egg shells in a container every time you eat an egg.
4. When you’ve collected a lot of egg shells from about a dozen eggs, boil them in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. This is an important step to kill off any germs such as salmonella.
5. After boiling, drain off the water then place the egg shells one by one on a tray or stainless steel platter and let them dry on a sunny window sill. I don’t dry them in an oven – I just let Nature do its work so there’s no chance of destroying any nutrients in the egg shells. It will take about 1 day for the egg shells to dry under direct sunlight and about 5 days in winter. If you use an oven, place the egg shells on a stainless steel baking sheet and bake in an oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 7-10 minutes.
6. When completely dry and crisp, break up the egg shells and place them in a coffee grinder (or spice grinder) and blend till it turns into a white powder. It’s not going to be very smooth – it will have a slight abrasive texture. Store in a glass jar.
How Much Calcium can I get from Egg Shells?
The free range eggs I got are about 1 or 2 times smaller than normal factory eggs but when one egg shell is ground to a powder, it’s approximately equal to 1 tsp. 1 tsp of egg shell powder contains about 750-1000 mg of elemental or absorbable calcium combined with other essential micro-minerals.
Note: The Daily Recommended Allowance (mg/day) of calcium for adults aged 19-70 years is 1000mg. For more information such as allowance for pregnant/lactating mothers, go to this list. Do not take more than this amount.
How to Consume Egg Shell Calcium & How Much to Take In a Day
Consume just ½-1 tsp per day. The simplest way is to add ½ tsp to ½ cup of water and drink it up, stirring with a spoon, preferably after a meal.
Another way to take them is by adding 1/2 tsp to 00 empty vegetable capsules and take one per day after a meal.
There are 500 kosher/halal capsules in this packet and they can also be used to take herbs/food grade essential oils as well!
Other great ways are to add ½ tsp to a salad or a smoothie (though it will be a bit gritty when chewing). How I consume it is by squeezing about 1/2 of juice from a fresh lemon to 1/2 tsp of eggshell calcium. Do not consume more than this amount per day.
How to Take Egg Shell Calcium to Get the Most Out of It
All minerals need acid and good fats to get easily absorbed by the body, so sprinkling 1/2 tsp of this egg shell calcium powder in a salad containing citrus acid-rich foods such as oranges and healthy fats like avocado/olive oil is one great way to get the most out of it.
Alternatively, here’s a simple recipe to make calcium citrate which is by mixing the egg shell powder with lemon juice for better absorption & utilization by the body.
Egg Shell Calcium Citrate Recipe (adapted from NourishedMagazine.com)
Every morning when you wake up, place ½ tsp of egg shell powder (your intake for the day) in a small dish and add ½ tsp of fresh juice squeezed from a lemon.
It will start bubbling immediately – this is normal. Mix well and keep it for 6 hours at room temperature.
It will get less gritty this way.
When the time is up, take it with water after your lunch or mix it in your lunch!
The original recipe also says to take 400 mg of magnesium citrate at the same time, since calcium and magnesium need to be taken in at least equal amounts.
Also ensure to take enough vitamin D, which aids in the absorption of calcium. Best foods rich in vitamin D are free range eggs, grass fed milk and cod liver oil.
And lastly, a question that might be running through most of your minds:
Is Eating Egg Shells as a Source of Calcium Safe for Humans?
Yes it is! Check out this study if you’re still apprehensive.
I tried it!! It was like drinking sand and it took a whole day to completely get the sand out from between my teeth. It was disgusting. I’m gonna have to find another way.
Hmm…it was fine for me. Yes it feels gritty in your mouth but it was only 1/2 tsp and i mixed it with plenty of lemon juice. I ate lunch right afterwards maybe that’s why i didn’t feel it on my teeth. I certainly didn’t have your experience. Maybe you could try putting it in capsules. Imma try that next.
My kids take it every morning like this: on a spoon I put a bit of homemade cultured butter or coconut oil then 1 tsp of egg shells stuck on top then a tad of honey and a glob of peanut butter and they love it! It works perfect and you don’t notice the egg shells with the crunchy peanut butter!
Hello,
Thank you for such great information. I do have a question- while I’m saving the eggshells until I have enough to gound, the membrane that gets stuck to the eggshell, do you remove that or it gets grounded along with the eggshells? Thanks so much!
Hi Jeanny,
I usually remove the membrane before grinding.:)
The easiest way for myself to cosume 1/2 tsp is placing on tongue and downing a nice glass of orange juice. No grit what so ever!
So glad to see this! I’ve saved and ground up egg shells for the garden years ago. The coffee grinder worked best, for making a finer powder, but mine was a cheaper model and got hot too quick. I found a glass canistered blender in a thrift shop that worked better. Egg shells do a bad number on plastic canisters. I’ve gotten to old to keep up gardening to the level that makes the effort worthwhile to me. But I’ve sure got enough left in me to make powdered egg shell calcium supplements! Thanks for this article! PS: I wonder if putting tartaric acid powder in the dried eggshell would have the same effect?
I thought, from other sites, that on order to release the calcium from the eggshells, they must be soaked in vinegar