When I gathered with the playgroup mamas at Whole Foods Market for a lesson on kids and healthy eating, I expected some tips on convincing my children to try new things (and secretly hoped the nutrition expert leading the seminar would announce a newfound benefit of Cheetos).
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the food lady’s warnings about microwaving our kids’ food (depletes all nutrients, she announced), cooking with olive oil (causes cancer, she warned) and in general not feeding them enough protein (serve chicken breast for breakfast, she suggested with a smile).
Those statements can be disputed (or confirmed) in future posts. But one random statement that stuck with this neurotic mama was her description of calcium carbonate, an ingredient I’ve noticed on everything from Cheerios to crackers to frozen foods. Calcium carbonate, this nutrition guru told us, is nothing but chalk.
Chalk in my cereal bowl?
Hmmm.
Calcium carbonate is a common food additive derived from a chemical compound. It is extracted from rocks worldwide and can also be made from marble. Snail shells and egg shells are calcium carbonate. Besides common blackboard chalk it is used to make:
* Latex gloves.
* Paint.
* Cement.
* Oil-drilling fluids.
* Baby diapers.
* Glossy paper.
* Toothpaste.
I’m no scientist, but it scares me to see a chemical ingredient used in things like paint also used in my food. I guess I see the word “calcium” on my food label and think of Brooke Shields and her milk mustache and envision my kids with teeth and bones of steel. But studies show that calcium carbonate contains only a small amount of calcium that the body can absorb; plant-derived calcium (i.e. broccoli) is much more beneficial.
In the environment, calcium carbonate is used to neutralize the acidic conditions in soil and water. So what is it doing to the insides of our bodies?
I’ll keep looking for answers. But for now, maybe the next time my daughter licks the chalkboard of her art easel, I can tell myself she is at least getting her calcium.
what we just ate ... 