Coral Calcium Reaches The Western World

The introduction of coral calcium to the Western culture began more than 500 years ago when the Spanish explorers brought it back to Europe from what is now Okinawa. The explorers had seen the effects of the benefits that the coral sand, known as coral calcium today, had on the people living on the coral islands. They filled their ships with the coral sand and returned to Spain.

Today in Spain, the world's oldest drugstores, which are now historic monuments, have shelves holding clay pots which are still labeled "Coral Calcium, Okinawa, Japan." In literature written at that time by doctors there are many stories telling of miraculous cures of many people's illnesses and diseases through the use of the coral sand.

There is a recorded story in the folklore and legends of China that tells of a Chinese emperor that sent three thousand explorers on a mission to find the land of heaven on earth. This magical place was called Horai, and the people of that time believed it existed in the warm oceans off the east coast of China. The Chinese emperor had sent his explorers to find the elixir of life, known to us as the fountain of youth, he had commanded the explorers to return with the life-sustaining tonic. Legend tells us that the Chinese explorers did find these islands of Paradise. But they never returned to China. The life they found there was too satisfying for them to leave. The island that they found was considered the land of eternal life. The legend goes on to describe this ideal location as having a coral base, and beautiful, pristine, clear seas. The legend identified this place as the prefecture, or province, of Okinawa. Perhaps, the elixir of life that the Chinese Emperor sought was the coral calcium of today.

By the 1900's the use of coral calcium consumption for health benefits had spread to the mainland of Japan. The benefits of consuming of coral calcium continued to spread throughout China, Russia, Sweden, France, and Britain. In the 1970s coral calcium was introduced to the United States as a modern dietary supplement.

The use of coral calcium is a nutritional supplement has continued to grow throughout the western world. The health benefits associated with taking this dietary supplement continue to be an essential factor in the lives of many people.