Japanese water works?
Reproduced from Issue 103 of Arthritis Today
A sachet of coral calcium
Coral calcium – a triumph of marketing hype or of genuine benefit to people with arthritis? If several dozen readers of Arthritis Today are to be believed, a new, rather expensive product has taken over from its rivals as the current "miraculous" substance which radically reduces arthritic pain.
Coral calcium appears to be top of the popularity stakes, beating the likes of green lipped mussel extract, and glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate by a short head.
So what exactly is coral calcium? According to the company which sells the stuff in the UK, it's collected from a coral reef around the Japanese islands of Okinanawa and Tocunoshima before being washed, sterilised, processed and sent off to the Scandinavian countries, Spain and Britain. The local population of the islands have very low incidences of illness, it's said, which is attributed to the natural elements in the water.
Coral Calcium, which is also the name of the company which imports the product from Japan, claims that tiny particles of coral release calcium, magnesium and other elements when immersed in water. The coral is also said to raise the body's alkaline content and improve the auto-immune system. Users buy the product in sachet form, and drink it sprinkled in water.
Some people swear by its healing properties. Ever since a retired vet wrote in to The Hints Box, extolling the properties of coral calcium, and the effects it had had on his wife – an osteoarthritis sufferer for more than 20 years, and his dogs – others have taken up their pens with similar stories.
Julie Michaels, a nail technician from Watford who has osteoarthritis, found the pain in her hands and wrists subsided after just two weeks.
Leonard Walker, a 48-year-old former track athlete turned physiotherapist from Stanmore who now runs two sports injuries clinics in London and Gibraltar, developed osteoarthritis after a cartilage operation five years ago.
He took all kinds of conventional therapies, but eventually got to the stage where he could hardly walk. A doctor friend recommended coral calcium, and eight weeks later the pain reduced to such an extent that he can now play golf and runs every day. He recommends the product to his own patients, and has found a big improvement in about 75% of them.
John Spencer's story is similar. The 76-year-old from Barnet could no longer play golf or do the gardening. "Six weeks after taking it, I am 80% improved," he says. "I would shout over the rooftops about this, as over the years my GP has given me only anti-inflammatory pills, which I can no longer take."
So, is there a catch? For a start, coral calcium is not cheap, retailing at £29.95 for a six-week supply and £49.95 for 12 weeks. And however glowing the anecdotal evidence is, it remains just that, anecdotal. Unlike glucosamine sulphate, there is no theoretical science behind coral calcium to explain how it works.
There have been no randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trials to establish its effectiveness, and without proper, serious scientific studies to prove the product's claims, could become the latest in a long line of seven-day wonder cures, soon to be supplanted by some equally exotic sounding potion.
It should also be borne in mind that in rheumatoid arthritis the placebo effect can be as high as 40%. Patients may go through a period of natural remission from their arthritis, yet attribute it, maybe inaccurately, to whatever substance they are taking at the time.
Rheumatologists are sceptical. "There is no good evidence to show that coral calcium is helpful," said Dr Rajan Madhok, arc medical secretary, and a consultant rheumatologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
"There is no harm in taking extra calcium, but patients should let their doctor know what they are taking. A lot of agents have a big placebo effect – for example, some of my patients swear by green lipped mussels, yet controlled work has shown that it does not help people."
Dr Madhok is worried about people wasting their money. "My only reservation would be the amount of expense for patients," he added. "If the company genuinely believes that the product is good, it should be doing the kind of research into showing it is good, rather than just using it for marketing purposes."
Peter Steyne, head of Coral Calcium, says they have contacted the BMA with a view to setting up trials of coral calcium, but didn't get far. "The problem is that the BMA is terribly reluctant to give credence to any complementary therapies. It would take years and cost thousands to set up trials and I'm not the man to do it."
Much cheaper and simpler is to turn to the hundreds of letters of people who take coral calcium and find it works for them. After all, who can argue with so many satisfied punters?
Mr Steyne, a business man who deals in property, says he was recommended the product by a Japanese woman he met in Spain about seven years ago. He found it helped his sports injuries and his mother's arthritis, got hooked, and decided to import coral calcium direct from Japan to the UK.
He doesn't sell it through health food shops, doesn't advertise, and relies mainly on articles in the press, and a system of word of mouth, to promote his product.
Mr Steyne doesn't claim to know how coral calcium works, but knows that if it didn't, his company wouldn't be around for much longer. "If it doesn't work we will not get any recommendations, and the whole thing will fold," he says. "Coral calcium speaks for itself."
While the anecdotal evidence sounds persuasive, there are simply no hard facts to back up its claim. Readers will have to make up their own minds!
