If you’re on the lookout for natural alternatives for nutrient supplements, homemade calcium powder is a perfect alternative to store-bought calcium supplements.
Made from eggshells, it’s easy to prepare and cost-efficient as well. Contrary to general belief, maintaining dental and bone health is not the sole function of calcium in our bodies.
Your body also needs calcium to carry out muscle function, hormone secretion, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling as well as vascular contractions and relaxation to help maintain healthy blood pressure.
To ensure that these functions are carried out smoothly, your body constantly maintains the levels of calcium as an active agent, leaching it from bone tissues when required. As a result, only bone health suffers when you have dietary calcium deficiency.
In order to maintain calcium levels in the blood and other fluids, bones go through cycles of calcium resorption and deposition throughout the lifespan of an individual.
While calcium deposition is higher than resorption in children, both are equal in adults and resorption may be higher in old people, especially in postmenopausal women. If dietary calcium is lacking, this can hasten bone thinning (osteoporosis).
The daily calcium requirement in adults who are less than 50 years of age is 1,000 mg. People over 50 years of age require a daily intake of 1,200 mg of calcium.
Now that you know how important calcium is to maintain your overall health, you may think about taking calcium supplements if you’re not meeting your daily requirement of calcium intake.
Before you start taking supplements, consider healthier and more natural options. When you make calcium powder at home with eggshells that you were probably going to discard anyway, you end up being resource-efficient too.
Contents
Steps to Make Eggshell Calcium Powder
Things you’ll need:
- Eggshells (washed)
- Water
Step 1. Put eggshells and water in a pan
Pour water into a pan and add clean, washed eggshells to it. The water should be enough to submerge the shells entirely.
Step 2. Let the eggshells simmer in the water
Allow the shells to simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. This will eliminate any pathogens like salmonella from the eggshells, and they’ll be safe to consume later.
Step 3. Dry the eggshells overnight
Spread out the eggshells on a tray and let them air-dry overnight.
Step 4. Bake the eggshells
Place the dried eggshells on a baking tray and pop it in the oven at 200° F for 10 minutes.
Step 5. Grind the eggshells into powder and store in a container
Grind the entire batch of eggshells into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or a high-powered blender. Keeping the texture of the powder very fine is essential.
Store the calcium powder in an airtight container. A mason jar with a screw-on lid will also work great.
Take ¾ to 1 teaspoon of the eggshell powder with 1 cup of water daily. Just 1 teaspoon of the powder may account for almost 90 percent of your daily calcium requirement. The calcium concentration in the powder will depend on the eggshells used.
Additional Tips
- For convenience in processing, start with a batch of eggshells from at least a dozen eggs.
- You may divide your daily dose of calcium powder into 3 portions and take them with your meals throughout the day.
- Do not consume more than 1 teaspoon of the eggshell powder in a day, as it may end up irritating your bowel.
- Those with weak digestive systems should start with a ¼ teaspoon of powder daily. See how your body reacts and adjust the dosage accordingly.
- For better absorption in the body, you may take the powder with a little lemon juice or vinegar. The powder may bubble up a little, but that’s normal. Your body will more easily absorb the resulting calcium salts than calcium carbonate.
- Besides using it as a dietary supplement, you can also use this calcium powder to make homemade toothpaste to improve your dental health.
- This calcium powder can also be used to make beauty face masks for topical application. Calcium can help keep your skin in good health by promoting the cell renewal of your skin.
- You can also add this calcium powder to your garden soil to nourish your plants with easy and time-released calcium and other nutrients.
Summary of How to Make Calcium Powder from Eggshells:
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