Eggshell powder recipe
Have you been told you need to supplement with calcium? I walk through this with patients who have low calcium levels on testing and are having symptoms of low calcium such as anxiety (calcium is calming to your nervous system), muscle symptoms like cramping or arrhythmia, and adrenal or thyroid hyperactivity to name a few.
The RDA for calcium is 1,000-1,300mg depending on age and gender. This is a friendly reminder that the RDA is a guidelines and the minimum to avoid deficiency. If deficiency is presents, you may need to shoot for more calcium. For supplementation, there are a lot of poor calcium supplements out there which can lead to calcium being deposited in places you don’t want it to go - like blood vessels and other soft tissues. To avoid this, I opt for food forms such as dairy (ideally raw!), bone broth, pearl powder, or eggshell powder. You can read more about the controversy on calcium supplementation HERE.
Food based is usually best, and eggshell powder qualifies as food. Eggshell powder is great because it is something most people throw away anyways, making it an inexpensive source of calcium. What if you saved those precious eggshells from your high quality, free range eggs and turned them into something beneficial?
Here is the recipe in an eggshell:
Sanitize: Boil eggshells for 15 minutes
Dry: Place boiled shells in oven at 225 degrees for 20 minutes
Blend: Use a grinder or blender to grind into a fine powder. The better the grinder and the more time you spend on this step, the finer the powder and more palatable it becomes. You can also finish with a mortar and pestle to get it to a powder.
Store: Place in airtight jar in cool, dry place for up to 3 months.
Dosing: 1 gram of powder is 400mg. 1/2tsp is 400-500 depending on the texture of your powder.
Calcium for Dogs
Did you know it is also important for dogs to get calcium? I started making our own dog food and add eggshell powder to it. Dosing for dogs is 250mg of calcium per 11#. Flax, chia, and hemps seeds are also good sources of calcium that I use.
How to know if you need more calcium?
I recommend looking at calcium in your blood via a metabolic panel as well as in the cell via a hair tissue mineral analysis!