Eggshells present healthy, balanced calcium due to trace amounts of other minerals contained in it. Eggshell calcium is probably the best natural source of calcium, and it is easier for your body to digest and absorb. Dutch researchers have reported recently a highly positive effect of eggshell calcium (with added magnesium and vitamin D) on bone mineral density in a scientific study (double blind, placebo-controlled). Laboratory test and measures of bone density were carefully made in these studies. The eggshell supplemented group had measurable increases in bone density in their hip bones, after one year.
The ideal bone-building combination of eggshell calcium and vitamin D3 was also well documented in Japanese studies. Researchers at the Japan Women’s University, Tokyo studied a combination of vitamin D3 and eggshell powder in animals with osteoporosis. Not only was the eggshell powder with vitamin D3 able to improve bone mineral density, but it did it without significantly increasing blood calcium levels.
You can use any kind of egg (chicken, goose, duck), but it is best to use organic or certified organic eggs from free-range birds. If the bird does not get proper nutrients the eggshells won’t contain the nutrients we need.
How much to take?
One whole medium sized eggshell makes about one teaspoon of powder, which yields about 750 - 800 mgs of elemental* calcium plus other microelements, i.e. magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sulphur, silicon, zinc, etc. There are 27 elements in total. The composition of an eggshell is very similar to that of our bones and teeth.
*Elemental amounts are the amounts absorbable.
Most people require a minimum of 400 mgs per day of calcium, in addition to calcium from other food sources, so you would take 1/2 teaspoon of the powder per day. Also take 400 mgs of magnesium citrate at the same time. Calcium and magnesium need to be taken in at least equal amounts, and some people require more magnesium than calcium depending upon how much they obtain from their diet.
If you are getting muscle cramps take extra magnesium (about 150 mgs). If that doesn’t alleviate the cramps within an hour take another 150 mgs, and so on. If you get unusual joint pain and you do not have arthritis, take an additional 150 mgs of calcium. Do not take more than 500 mgs of calcium at one time because your body cannot handle it. If you need more than 400 mgs per day split up the doses during the day.
It is best to take calcium and magnesium with foods to help absorb them.
Don’t forget that vitamin D is very important for absorbing minerals, so take cod liver oil in the winter and get into the sun in the summer! In addition, all of the trace minerals, sodium and chloride are important for mineral absorption and to keep minerals balanced so do take a lemon juice and ocean sea salt drink every day (the juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/4 teaspoon of ocean sea salt mixed into 6 ounces of filtered water 6 times a day; 3 with meals to aid digestion).
How to Make Powdered Eggshells:
- Wash empty eggshells in warm water until all of the egg white is removed, but do not remove the membrane because it contains important nutrients for the joints which helps arthritis.
- Lay broken pieces out on paper towels and allow them to air dry thoroughly.
- Break the eggshells up into small pieces, and grind them to into a fine powder in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, or a nut mill, or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them. Please note that some blenders will not grind the eggshell into a fine enough powder. A coffee grinder works the best.
- Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container. Keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.
How to take eggshell calcium (this forms calcium citrate) takes 3 hours:
- Put 1/2 teaspoon of powdered eggshell into a small dish (approximately 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches across) 1/2 teaspoon equals approximately 400 mgs of elemental calcium.
- Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon (freshly squeezed), and mix well it will start to bubble and foam, which is what is supposed to happen.
- Leave it at room temperature for 6 hours the longer you leave it the less gritty it will be, but do not leave it longer than 12 hours.
- It can be taken by the spoonfuls, followed by mouthfuls of water to wash it down. It is not sour tasting. In fact the taste is quite pleasant.
- Also take 400 mgs of magnesium citrate at the same time.
Other Eggshell Recipes here are some other ways to make eggshell calcium citrate:
# 1 Lemon Eggshell:
- Place one whole, clean, uncooked egg into a clean, wide-mouth jar and cover it with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Cover the jar loosely and place it in the refrigerator.
- A few times a day, gently agitate the jar the mixture will bubble.
- After 48 hours, when the bubbling stops, carefully remove the egg.
- The recipe says to take 1/2 teaspoon of this mixture daily, but with the added lemon 1/2 teaspoon would not equal 400 mgs of calcium, so it is hard to judge how much of the mixture to take in order to get enough calcium.
# 2 Lemon Eggshell:
- Fill a wide mouth jar with 3 clean, whole, uncracked eggs.
- Cover the eggs with freshly squeezed lemon juice it important that the lemons are very fresh or this mixture will not work right.
- Clove the jar tightly and place it in the refrigerator. You should start to see bubbles forming on the eggshells. That means the eggshells are being dissolved into the lemon juice. The mixture will gradually turn white.
- Gently agitate the jar a few minutes about 3 times a day.
- As soon as the bubbling stops it is ready to take. It should not take any longer than 36-48 hours. If you leave the mixture longer it will tend to get thick and the eggs will begin to absorb more of the lemon juice, or the eggs may split and leak into the mixture. Occasionally this mixture doesn’t work when the lemons are not fresh enough.
- Carefully remove the eggs without breaking the membrane, and use them as you would normally, i.e. in your raw egg drink. There will not be any shell left on the egg because it has been totally dissolved into the lemon juice, which is calcium citrate.
- Place a tight lid on the mixture that remains after the eggs have been removed, and shake it well.
- Take no more than one teaspoon per day initially because it can be very powerful. Start slowly. The amount may be gradually increased over time.
Bee’s note: The amount of this mixture to take is not easy to figure out. One eggshell (size is not stated) yields approximately 1,800 mgs of elemental calcium (amount that will be absorbed). Therefore 3 eggs would contain 5,400 mgs, divided by 400 mgs = approximately 13.5 doses.
About the Author...
Bee Wilder has a wealth of knowledge and experience both as a former sufferer of candida and convenor of the candida support group. Since the 1980s when Bee could eat only a few types of foods and was so sensitive to yeasts she had to adminster herself an allergy shot every day, she has not only fully recovered but now is more robust than ever. Bee lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and continues to research natural health and nutrition. You can find more articles and support at her website: Healing Naturally by Bee
Jul 17th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Wow, that sounds good. We have our own chookies but call me too chicken to try. Worried about their poop giving me bad bugs. Actually I worry about that too much!
Aug 8th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
hi…thanks for information….it help me better to my project in science
Sep 11th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Thanks for sharing that. My girlfriend told me about it this morning so I did some resereach, she was not pulling my leg. i’ve jus been to the bin and rescued the shells of the five eggs we had for lunch, they’re aiting out right now. Will have my calcium for dinner time. Wow!!!!
Sep 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Thank you, Bee! I’ve been crushing up my eggshells for my worm compost, and given the shells to my birds, and I was contemplating taking the powdered shells for calcium but didn’t know if humans could absorb it. I used the powdered shells on my tomato plants this summer after one tomato got blossom end rot, and it kept the rest of the crop from getting the rot, so I know it’s a wonderful and natural source. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!! All we need is given to us, we just need to find it.
Jan 3rd, 2008 at 3:08 am
I was reading about this eggshell calcium in a book by Mikhail Tombak, Ph.D. He suggests boiling the eggshells for 5 minutes before drying them. This seems like a way to rid them of salmonella, but I was wondering if some of the nutrients might be lost in boiling. ??
Jan 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Hi Linda,
Dr. Mercola has a great article “Eggs Not a Likely Source of Salmonella”; http://www.mercola.com/2003/feb/5/eggs_salmonella.htm
However, I do not think boiling eggshells for 5 minutes will damage any nutrients in them.
The best in health, Bee
Jan 6th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Hi Bea,
Thanks for the info. This was just what I have been looking for. I want to make sure that I understand one thing though. If plop an entire egg - shell and all - into my smoothie, I will not absorb the calium and other minerals because it did not soak in lemon juice. Is that correct?
Thanks,
Karen
Jan 7th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Hi Karen,
You will still absorb the nutrients in an eggshell if you add it to a smoothie, but the eggshell will settle to the bottom and be very gritty. You would have to dig it out of the bottom.
If you soak eggshells in lemon juice it dissolves it better, but it will still be gritty and will not mix well in other liquids. The grit settles to the bottom. I’ve experimented a lot with this and find it is much easier to soak eggshells in lemon juice and not try to mix it with any fluids; just eat it off the spoon followed by mouthfuls of liquid. After the lemon juice dissolves the eggshell it is quite thick, so it can be rolled it up into little balls.
If you want a really good smoothie that is extremely nutritious try Bee’s Raw Egg Drink. If you send me an email at: beeisbuzzing2003@yahoo.com I will send you the recipe. My website is just getting set up so some of the recipes do not work yet.
The best in health,
Bee
Jan 14th, 2008 at 7:20 am
This is a great recipe to get more needed calcium. But i’d like to share another wonderful purpose it helps. The first time I heard of this, it was actualy given to me for my baby boy. He had a very bad enzema rash on his cheeks and around the lips. It was suggested that you purchase organic eggs and boil them. (like it was mentioned) After they air dry, remove the membrane inside and grind into powder. This is for a baby so the measurments are very small, could be measured on the tip of a knife ) and mix with a drop or two of squeezed lemon. This is a home remody. Always ask your pediatrician first.
Feb 23rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Hi Bea, I think that this is brilliant.
I have been putting my dried eggshells into the over on an foil dish, so that when I bake something they are heated. I crush the shells after a couple of baking sessions (they are softer) and use them in my compost heap.
Do you know if heating affects the calcium content?
Feb 24th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Hi Jenny,
We know that overheating or overcooking foods does affect the nutrients available, by lowering them and/or destroying them, so I believe the same would be true for eggshells. I’ve only used “air dried” eggshells to make calcium for myself.
My mother puts eggshells in her compost heap without drying or heating them. They broke down quite easily so it wouldn’t be necessary to heat them.
The best, Bee
Mar 13th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Great info! I tried including crushed egg shells for dinner to our dog, and was wondering about how I should be taking egg shells myself. I’ve been reading on a calcium tincture recipe and wanted to get more info. Thanks for the instructions.
Mar 17th, 2008 at 4:13 am
Hi Bee,
Thank you very much for this info!
I just found an organic egg seller near I live, so I can’t wait to try this out.
One question, do you think vinegar (apple cider vinegar, for example) may work as well? Or does it have to be lemon juice?
Mar 19th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Being the very curious type, I looked up info about calcium and found that calcium, unlike many other nutrients, does not begin to decompose until it reaches 601 degrees Centigrade.
Mar 19th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Hi Jenny,
Would you please provide a reference to the information about calcium since I’ve never heard of that. It doesn’t make sense that the body wouldn’t absorb minerals like calcium without them being such a high temperature. Minerals are found in many foods, including meats and eggs, and they are essential to health.
Calcium and other minerals mainly need acid in order to be absorbed, i.e. lemon, vinegar, etc. and even taking minerals with vitamin C helps.
The best in health, Bee
Mar 20th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Hi Bee, I shall try and find that reference again . I’m pretty stressed at the moment with commitments, so haven’t time at the moment, especially since I only have dial up which is very, very slow. It may be the chemical reactions rather than the heat which breaks calcium down in our bodies - I’m not up on that sort of thing.
Love the ‘nourishedmagazine’ site. I only wish that I had more time to read more stuff.
PS If you are keen, I’m sure that you could find the reference site - only the first paragraph of the paper was in English (It was a scientific paper on line).
Mar 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Hi Bee,
I have hens and organic eggs. I’d always saved the shells, dried them on the rack over my stove, then put them in plastic bag and crushed them up with my rolling pin to give back to the hens to aid in their nutrients. Today after I gave the hens the crushed shells, I thought they might aid me with my calcium intake as well, so after a little search I’m happy to have found your blog. I have a salad every day for lunch which, among other things, consists of baby spinach greens, raisins, chopped walnuts and sliced almonds, and I’m wondering how crushed/powdered egg shell will work sprinkled on top of the salad - and how much per day.
Happy Spring!
Johanna
Mar 22nd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Dear Johanna,
I recommend taking 300 mg of calcium twice a day, along with the same amount of magnesium citrate; they need to be taken at the same time.
Your body can only handle a maximum of 500 mg at a time, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground eggshell equals 400 mg of calcium, therefore you would add less than 1/2 teaspoon to your foods twice a day.
You will find ground eggshell is somewhat gritty and dry if you do not mix it with lemon juice.
All minerals require acid and “good” fats, i.e. butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. in order to be absorbed and utilized in the body. A salad is great since it contains vinegar and oils!
The best to you, Bee
Mar 23rd, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hi Bee,
Could we please have a list of all the allowed vegies on the diet?
Also was wondering how long people stay on the diet?
Thanks M.J.
Mar 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Is there a natural, ‘home made’ style of Magnesium available to take along with the eggshells?
Mar 25th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Dear MJ,
I assume you mean the list of foods acceptable on the Candida Diet. There are handy lists of foods, and also supplements recommended on my Yahoo Candida Support Group at: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/candidasupport/
Once you join go to the Files (left-hand menu) and you will find many Folders; look for the Folder “B) Candida Diet, Shopping Lists, and All About Foods.” See the Folder “B) Candida Supplements” too.
The best in health, Bee
Mar 25th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Hi Nancy,
I wish there was a way to make natural magnesium supplements but as far as I know there isn’t. Take magnesium citrate tablets or capsules along with the eggshell calcium. I recommend 300 mg each of calcium and magnesium two times a day, with meals.
The best, Bee
Mar 26th, 2008 at 11:38 am
To answer Nancy’s Q about the magnesium….the source I use for that is organic black strap molasses. On Saturday I took about a tablespoon of powdered organic eggshells, put it in a glass and covered it with apple cider vinegar. You should see it dance!!! The shells go up, then down, then up again…..anyway…so when that stops, which it seemed like about a hour, I strained out the remaining shell granules and put the vinegar in a jar to keep in the fridge.
Then I boiled some water and made a tea with a teaspoon of the vinegar and a teaspoon of the molasses. It’s really good!! I know it may not be perfectly balanced (calcium v. magnesium), but it’s the best I could do, and strangely enough I had a burst of energy afterwards, which was totally unexpected. I used to have anemia, and I know that molasses is a great source of iron, too, and a lot of other trace minerals, so I’m sticking to this and I’ll see what happens.
Mar 27th, 2008 at 4:41 am
A purportedly highly assimilated form of magnesium is Peter Gillham’s product Natural Calm. It is a powder that when hot water is added, you see foaming similar to that when you are processing your eggshells into assimilable calcium. Tastes good, too. 1 tsp of the powder = 205 mg of Mg.
Apr 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
For those not interested in eating real food with their eggshells try the info on this site http://www.hoptechno.com/bookfoodsourcemg.htm
Apr 3rd, 2008 at 2:11 am
Travis, you meant “for those interested,” right? Thanks for the list of real food that provide magnesium. Pumpkin seeds and various nuts are the way to go.
Apr 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Hi Bee,
I am confused, in the first instruction says to only take 1/2 teaspoon and mix with 1/2 lemon, leave at room temp no more than 12 hours - are you supposed to refrigerate. This is only one or two doses?? Could I mix more than 1/2 teapoon eggshells at one time - how long could it be left in refrigerator, will it go bad or loose potency?
I use a moter & pestle and cannot get a very fine texture does that matter as long as you disolve in lemon juice?
How much would you give a ten pound dog, is it safe to give to them?
Apr 8th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Hi Gina,
You do not have to refrigerate it for the 12 hours it is working with the lemon juice, but if it makes you feel better you can. It works okay either way.
Yes you can mix up more than 1/2 teaspoon of eggshells at a time. The problem is that mixing it with lemon juice changes the volume, so it is easier when you know you take 1/2 of the total mixture twice a day. If you keep track of the teaspoons mixed you can divide the mixture into proper amounts.
The mixture can dry out if it is kept for longer periods of time, so when mixing up a few days at a time it needs to be covered and refrigerated. It will not go bad or lose potency.
The eggshell doesn’t totally dissolve into the lemon juice. It is still gritty so it will not mix with liquids because it will settle to the bottom. I suggest you experiment by making one 1 teaspoon at first.
Yes, it is safe to give to dogs. Pet stores sell bags of eggshell calcium for that purpose, but who knows what kind of eggs they use. For the dose check with a Pet store or your vet.
The best, Bee
Apr 8th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Magnesium is used by plants to create chlorophyll in a similar way to iron being used by us to make red blood cells. Any green plants will therefore be good sources of magnesium. Food based supplements such as barley greens, wheat grass, spirulina and chlorella will all contain abundant magnesium. Almonds are another good source, as is molasses (also high in sodium for digestion and healthy adrenal glands) and yeast (not so good if you’re a candida type recovering from a high sugar or refined grain diet). Maybe try mixing some wheat grass juice in with your calcium and lemon juice?
May 9th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Bee,
Thank you very much for sharing the eggshell recipe, I can’t wait to try it, however. I went to the store to get magnesium citrate and now am confused on the magnesium end of it all. I went to my local grocery store and the magnesium I found is a saline laxative oral solution, and I don’t think you meant that. I could be wrong, I’ve been wrong many times before. I decide to get it since it wasn’t very expensive and came home to do some homework on the internet on magnesium. I can tell you now, after I read everything I could about magnesium I am now even more confused than before. I found magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, liquid magnesium gluconate, magnesium supplements in a variety of dosages and even an article on Nano Particle Ionic Magnesium that swears is the best magnesium in the world because its already in an ionic form ( http://www.mag-i-cal.com/magnesium.htm#unique ). So, which magnesium am I to take? or does it matter? Thank you for your help
Rose
May 10th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Hi Rose,
There are many forms of magnesium but I recommend magnesium citrate because “citrate” is acid and all minerals require acid in order to be absorbed. You can get it in gelatin capsules, usually 150 mg each. Ensure the label states the “elemental amount” of magnesium, which is the amount absorbed. Here in Canada I buy Natural Factors brand.
The best in health, Bee